The Factions of Karakura High
by Moi Fah
Summary: As if high school wasn't hard enough, try dealing with the fact that your teachers just divided the entire school into factions. Why have these factions been created, and who's really running the show behind the scenes? It may be up to Hotaru and Chibi-Usa to find out before Karakura is wiped off the face of the planet!
1. Goodbye Ochisensei, Hello New Girl!

**Title: The Factions of Karakura High**

**Author: Moi Fah**

**Genre: General/ Romance?/ Humor/ Action**

**Crossover: Sailor Moon (slight AU) and Bleach (slight AU)**

**Version: Anime and Manga (respectively) **

**Rating: T (for future violence, language, perverted nature, and anything else)**

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**Chapter One: Goodbye Ochi-sensei, Hello New Girl!**

"Oh, Setsuna-mama, do I really have to go to school today?" came the lamented voice of the Soldier of Ruin as she slowly buttoned up the blouse of her uniform. She was once again attending another school to give the odd and newly appeared family the look of normalcy. In other words, it was the perfect way for the senshi to work on their missions in secrecy.

"Yes, Hotaru!" called a voice from downstairs, "We had an agreement!" The Plutonian reminded her daughter figure as said girl grimaced upstairs. The Outers had promised her this would be the last time moving around like this, but Hotaru hadn't believed a word of it. But all in all, they were her parents, and she'd decided to go to this new school...on one condition: That her powers would not be needed or used for quite sometime. And Hotaru was determined to make sure they kept that promise...you could only repeat the same grade so many times.

After finishing up what would become her daily morning routine, the Saturnian princess trudged downstairs to eat a light breakfast with her family. Taking her seat at the table, Hotaru noticed that Haruka was wearing one of her (Hotaru's) favorite outfits. The blond woman wore a purple button-up shirt, with a red scarf tied around her right arm, and black pants to finish off the attire. It matched her 'papa' quite well, she decided, sheepishly picking at her own white button-up shirt and matching gray skirt.

"Don't worry Hotaru, I can drop you off at school this morning on the motorcycle." Haruka spoke up after downing her coffee. Hotaru nodded in acceptance, but her face held the look of 'do-you-really-think-that's-going-to-help?'. After devouring her own small meal, she and her papa headed off for the first-layer of Hell a.k.a. school.

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"Good morning class," greeted Misato Ochi, walking calmly into her classroom as she did every morning. Normally, she would have been humming a tune or singing a silly ditty to show her mood, but today was different, and these 10th graders were about to find out why. When she reached her desk, a few of the students returned her greeting, "I'd like to welcome you back from your Christmas holidays...hopefully everyone finished their assignments." Misato sang in a devilish tone, slightly liking the round of groans that flew up.

"That aside," she started again, surprising the class by placing her books and yard stick back on the desk, "I've got some news for you all. Good news and bad, I suppose."

"Ochi-sensei, spit it out." came a voice from the crowd. She nodded and kept her temper, "Well, we have a new student joining us this morning...let me go and get her." With that, Misato floated towards the doorway, poked her head out, and made a motioning gesture with her hand to come inside. Looking a bit reluctant, Misato practically pushed the small, frail girl into the classroom.

"This is Hotaru...uh...which name would you prefer, dear?" Misato asked, remembering quite clearly that the girl had listed 4 last names behind her initial one.

"T-Tomoe would be fine." she answered quietly, her gaze kept at the ground in embarrassment. Misato nodded and turned back to the class, re-introducing the girl all over again. "She transferred from the Azabu Juuban district in the east (AN: I'm not quite sure where its located. Karakura is supposedly located in western Japan), so please make her feel welcome after such a long trip here. Please Tomoe-san, feel free take the seat in the front." Moving much like a zombie would, Hotaru took the only empty seat on the first row, presuming that it had been set up for her anyway, and listened onward for the rest of Ochi-sensei's announcement. Strangely, Hotaru didn't have the feeling of eyes on her back like she thought she would...maybe they were just used to new students?

"And this brings us to the bad news," Misato continued, leaning against her desk with an evil glint in her eyes, "As you all know, rumors about the nature of the school have been going around. I can now tell that these are true, and to top it off, I'm retiring!" she stated with a huge smile. A girl with long, orangish brown hair raised her hand, "Yes, Inoue-san?"

"But Ochi-sensei, why? You're such a good teacher! Did you get fired?" the somewhat ditzy girl inquired. Misato shook her head in a negative fashion, "No, no, I just don't agree with what the 'guys upstairs' have done. As such, the number of teachers will more than likely be declining as well." Or that's what Misato would liked to have thought.

"But sensei, you still haven't told us what's happening." spoke Michiru Ogawa, her shyness and quiet nature enough to rival even Hotaru's.

"Sorry for beating around the bush guys, but I want to savor these last few moments as a teacher at this school. Anyway, according to the upper higher-ups, the school is going to split in factions!"

"Factions?" came a round of confused voices.

"Factions, academies, groups, clubs...whatever you want to call them." Misato offered unhelpfully with a shrug of her shoulders, "Nothing is going to change today, but after school, there'll be an announcement for a rally or something. You're all going to have to sign up for a faction."

"Ochi-sensei, what the hell kinda purpose does this serve anyway?" asked Ichigo Kurosaki, leaning back in his seat from boredom. Dammit, this crap would have to happen the first day they were back.

Misato shrugged again, "They haven't told me everything, but splitting the school into factions is supposed to help the school target areas in which students are having problems. There was also something about helping kids in their job areas or something. Whatever, that rally thing will explain it all. Now, kiddies, you know I love ya, but Ochi-sensei has to jet! See ya whenever!" she happily exclaimed with a wave, gathering up all the stuff she had brought into the classroom, "Remember, be nice to Hotaru! It's a shame I didn't get to teach you anything, sweetie!" And with, Misato Ochi had disappeared through the classroom door, never to be seen or heard from again that day, leaving behind a classroom of confused and bewildered 15-year-olds.

"What...the hell? What are we supposed to do all day then?" Ichigo asked no one in particular.

"Hm, she didn't mention anything about a substitute either, so I really haven't an idea." Rukia Kuchiki pondered beside the orange-haired boy, whom immediately vacated his seat after her statement. "Well, I know where I'm going." At that moment, Tatsuki Arisawa's foot shot out and tripped the boy, causing him to land flat on his face, "Don't even think about it Ichigo!"

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?" Ichigo yelled from his position on the ground, "Just wait here all day?" Tatsuki was silent, unlike the dull roar that surrounded them, and was unable to offer an answer.

"Hi, I'm Orihime Inoue." at the sound of the voice, Tatsuki looked up as well as Ichigo. Their well-endowed friend was currently holding her hand out to the new exchange student with a bright happy grin on her face. "Well, she doesn't seem bored. It wouldn't hurt you to go and make some new friends yourself." Tatsuki finally answered, removing the foot she'd placed on his back to allow him room to sit up. "Heh, no thanks." Ichigo muttered under his breath so only he and Tatsuki could hear, and with that, he trudged back to his desk.

"Oh...h-hi...my name is Hotaru Tomoe." Hotaru stuttered lamely, unable to get over the shyness that followed her wherever she went. "It's nice to meet you." she nodded her black locks and sent them bobbing.

"Do you like Karakura Town, Tomoe-san? Maybe, after school, you could come with Tatsuki and me to go shopping!" Hotaru was a bit overwhelmed...she'd never seen anyone this friendly, save for Usagi and Chibi-Usa...possibly Mina. "I...guess so." she answered lamely once again. Hey, her inner self decided, at least it wasn't hard to make friends this time around.

After listening to the short conversation, Tatsuki left her own seat to stand on the opposite of Hotaru's desk, "Hey there, Hotaru-san. I'm the Tatsuki Orihime was talking about."

"Hello...nice to meet you too." Hotaru gave a mini-bow of respect from her seat.

"So Hotaru," Tatsuki smirked widely, a little thankful that the girl was like Michiru, "you do any karate?" Hotaru returned the smile, much to her surprise, "Not really. I know a little martial arts taught to me by my father."

"That's cool, maybe I'll take you on sometime!" the girl offered and Hotaru laughed.

"Hey, you guys, come on!" Tatsuki grimaced, she knew the sound Chizuru Honso's voice anywhere. Normally, the voice came accompanied with a body and groping hands, but when they failed to surface, Tatsuki's looked behind her. "What is it?" Tatsuki and Orihime questioned simultaneously. Chizuru spoke in a hurried voice, "Keigo surprisingly had a good idea! We're gonna go search the school for those factions sign-up sheets or whatever, and be the first ones! Come on!" And with that, she rushed out of the door in pursuit of the other classmates. Strange, the trio hadn't even noticed that the classroom was now empty.

"Whelp, we might as well go!" Orihime said cheerfully, grabbing onto Hotaru and Tatsuki's wrist and pulling them outside.

'I definitely don't think I'll be bored...' Hotaru decided, a little curious as to exactly where they were headed.

* * *

_**Oh, I'm so tired. Here's another (in my opinion) boring pilot chapter. It was fun to write, hell, this whole story has been fun to write. I've always wanted to do a high school fic. The only reason for the AU is the fact that the senshi will be going to Karakura high, and the other Bleach people (arrancar/espada, vizards, etc.) will be going to the school as well. There are senshi and shinigami and everything else; the only difference is that they aren't already at war with each other.**_

_**Anybody want pairings? The other senshi will show up later, so will the other shinigami, etc. The factions/clubs will hopefully be introduced in the next chapter. Fans of Real Bout High will enjoy this fic I think.**_


	2. The Wrong Side of The In Crowd

_**A/N: Enjoy. I'm still pondering the couples...would anyone care if I kept in a few 'canonical' pairings, or made up some crazy rare pairs of my own with the Bleach characters? The SM crew would still have love interests too...**_

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**Chapter Two: The Wrong Side of The In-Crowd!**

"I had a feeling that we'd run into you goons sooner or later." Ichigo practically groaned, wearing his usual scowling face with his hands shoved into the pockets of his pants, "Lemme guess, same situation, huh?" Ichigo hadn't realized it until this point, but the entire remainder of the class stood behind him, flanking him much like an army...and he supposed that made him the unofficial leader. Dammit.

"Goon, huh? That's pretty rich comin' from a _strawberry_." Renji Abarai growled, grabbing the shorter boy's collar with an upwards jerk, embarrassed that Ichigo had made him look even the slightest bit stupid in front of Rukia. Someone sighed then, and rather loudly too, causing the two quarreling boys to turn their attention from each other.

The blond woman scratched her strawberry-blond locks to get the primping effect, "Oh, can't you boys just chill out? It's too earlier in the morning for that mess." she gave a dainty yawn to go along with her advice, her humongous chest floating up with her. A shorter boy to her side growled as he leaned against the nearby wall, and all eyes seemed to turn to him, "Well, Matsumoto, if you hadn't stayed out all night drinking, then perhaps you wouldn't have such a terrible headache."

"Ah," she crooned lovingly, bending to catch the shorter boy in a tight, breast-induced hug, "Sempai is worried about me." The boy seemed to make a noise of negativity as he tried to escape from the black-hole that was her cleavage. Poor guy, some of the less perverted students remarked, as the white of his hair became the only visible part of his head. Rolling his eyes, Ichigo sighed and turned back to Renji, "So, what are you guys doing?"

"Our teach up and left us this morning, so we're kinda just wandering around." the redhead offered lamely, every now and then glancing over in the hopes of seeing Rukia's eyes.

"Well then, Ichigo, I don't see why they shouldn't come with us." Rukia suggested with a ghost of a smile on her face.

"Don't you idiots know that traveling in a large group is a better way of getting caught?" the orange-headed boy said, his hands back in his pockets. The redheaded boy snickered in front of him, coming over to catch him around the neck, "What's the matter? Is _strawberry_ afraid of getting' caught?" No, of course not. Now, Ichigo wasn't a delinquent, but fighting to settle his problems had always worked before in the past. And he'd be damned if the school made him drag his dad up here from some kind of behavioral meeting or something.

"Hey Ichigo, we're here!" yelled a very chipper voice from behind the entire group, obviously having belonged to none other than Orihime Inoue. Behind her, closely following, were Tatsuki and the new girl, Hotaru, the orange-head remarked.

"Could you have been any louder?"

"I'm sorry, Ichigo," she giggled sweetly, finally releasing Hotaru's hands to cover her mouth. "But now that I' m here, we can start our epic adventure." The boy gave her an odd look, his pupils narrowing...she may have been cute, but she sure was strange.

Hotaru, on the other hand, simply chose to stay hidden behind Orihime and Tatsuki, and eventually the rest of the group. As they walked on, the girl couldn't help but get the feeling she wanted to run away. She wasn't sure why...just nervous, maybe? Even if she did run, she didn't know the school's layout at all and wouldn't know where to run to. She would have been lucky to have ended up at the front gate outside.

The group, she noticed, definitely seemed way more chatty than they should have been. You'd think they were on a field trip or something instead of skipping class. It was now that she seemed to get a good look at all of them. First, she noticed Ichigo first, as most people probably did. He had orange-hair, the color of Mina's favorite nail polish, and was quite tall with those long legs of his. Rukia, the girl on his right, was extremely shorter than him, possibly about her height, with dark-hair. Orihime was to the left of Ichigo, with the dark-haired Tatsuki close beside her. Another girl with red glasses, name Chizuru, was following them much like a stalker would while the rest of the other girls seemed discontent. Michiru Ogawa was a short brunette, a direct contrast to the tall, dark-haired Ryo Kunieda. Mahana Natsui was the only girl left of interest, and she was medium height, tan skinned, and had shaggy hair.

Moving on to the other boys in her class, Hotaru cast her eyes onto the tall, dark form who didn't seem to fit in anywhere, really. She vaguely remembered Ochi-sensei calling him 'Chad'. Orihime had mentioned that the dark-haired boy with glasses was named Uryu, and that he was a pretty good friend of theirs, too. The other two boys, Keigo and Mizuiro, were known only to her because of Ichigo's berating of them.

And with this new class...she wasn't quite sure what to think. Their group looked too small to be a class really. More like one of those classes for students with behavioral problems. Hotaru didn't know just how right she was.

The red-headed boy closest to Rukia was way taller than her, as most probably were, Hotaru decided. Hell, even she was taller than Rukia, even though is wasn't by much. Ichigo had called him Renji, she believed. The other consisted of a big-breasted blond woman that would have put Makoto to shame, a short white-haired boy with a scowling but cute face, a (dare she say?) bald boy, and a rather flamboyant shorter boy.

Once again, Hotaru felt her stomach sink and the urge to run away come up again. It wasn't fair that she was unable to feel comfortable around these people. They were so nice. Their familiarity with each other was reminiscent of the senshi. Of course, the other senshi would be here soon, possibly in few days if their transfer-paperwork worked out alright. Then, she could just hang out with them and wander over to Ichigo's group every now and then in the attempt to make more friends. The thought made her want to slap herself a bit...really, she sounded like she was choosing sides in some kickball game or something! If she was going to make friends, she'd need to start now and not use the other senshi as some sort of crutch. After all, the other senshi were so jubilant and full of life and so much more entertaining then her that Ichigo and his friends might have forgotten all about her.

Hotaru looked up then, trying desperately to lay her eyes on Ichigo's orange head. She'd ask him just where the gym was at, as well as the rest of her classes. Surely someone would start talking and trying to explain the school's layout! It seemed a nice way to start out a conversation. Only...Hotaru came to discover that she was utterly and totally alone.

She quickly looked behind her to see if she had somehow bypassed the group and they having said nothing about it. No, they weren't there. Not a trace of their voices either. Perhaps, instead of walking faster, she had slowed in her pace and let them get ahead of her. Darn it, her mind berated, as she checked her shoes then went tearing off down the hallway she was in. Unfortunately, she slowed all too quickly, and putting her hand against the nearby wall, heaved for heavy breaths of air. Darn it, even after all that training with Haruka-papa she was still coming up short in the running department!

Nonetheless, it looked like she'd come to the end of the hallway...if you could even call it that. The area smelled faintly of burnt wood and ash, not to mention that the ground was covered in it. The end of the hallway housed what appeared to be an old doorway. The sides had been licked black by flames, and the slightest of touches would probably have caused it to fall apart. Just where the hell was she?! Why on Earth would there be something like this inside the school? It was like something out of a scary book!

"Hey, whoever that is better fucking come out of hiding right now! You're breathing so heavily, it's starting to piss me off!"

Hotaru jumped instantly at the sound of the voice. She would have screamed and took off running if only she'd had the strength or the ability to. The girl felt her feet were frozen to the spot. Absentmindedly, she took three steps forward into the grayish, black room. Looking to her left, she saw them.

Yelping, her back collided with the nearby wall, sending sparks of gray ash everywhere and causing her to cough. The dust cleared quickly, and Hotaru turned her attention back to the source of the terrifying voices. They were two boys, one dark-haired, the other a bluenette...Hotaru felt her breathing calm just a bit. Okay, they weren't ghosts or monsters. That didn't mean, though, that they looked any less fierce.

The dark-haired boy was pale, so extremely pale that he possibly surpassed even her own skin pigment. He wore what looked like dark-eye-makeup down and around his eyes, and his mouth was strung into an unmovable line. The other one, the bluenette, had some kind of coloring about his eyes as well, only his mouth was bared into a ferocious smirk...like a wild cat finally catching a hold of its prey.

"U-Um...who are you?" she squeaked out, tearing herself away from the wall when she remembered her white tee uniform.

"I believe..._that_ should be _our_ question to you." the dark-haired one spoke, "You obviously have no business here." Hotaru felt herself agreeing with the boy with a nod of her head, why she wasn't sure.

"Shut the fuck up, Ulquiorra! It's been awhile since a girl's come to visit.." trailed the blue-haired boy from where he sat opposite the dark-haired boy. He gave a laugh here at the uncertainty creeping onto to Hotaru's features, and the girl once again jumped.

"You know, I could scream and there's a lot of people who would hear me..." she tried to say confidently, but it was nothing more than an empty threat. Who knew how far away Ichigo and the other's were by now? And honestly, transforming to beat up high school delinquents didn't sound like a good enough excuse to tell the Outers.

"Tch, what do you think we are? Rapists?" the blue-hair asked again. It was so dark in here, as the windows had been deliberately closed, but Hotaru eventually came to make out that they were both wearing a modified version of the school's uniform- 'Ulquiorra' had an open black jacket over a white shirt and hat, while the blue-haired guy simply wore a white tank top. Hotaru shook her head no when she realized that the ruder of the two of them was expecting an answer.

"Look, I'm really sorry I messed with you," Hotaru tried as hard as possible to stretch the apology, "but could you tell me what this place is? It's embarrassing but I got lost when I walking with my friends..."

"What the-? Are you new or somethin'?" Hotaru nodded, causing the blue-haired guy to grimace and sigh, to scratch his blue locks.

"This 'place' was the room of the old chemistry lab. It was burnt down years ago when an experiment went wrong and caused the fire." 'Ulquiorra' filled in, obviously sounding as if he didn't want to be the one to explain it. But, it would keep Grimmjow from pissing him off, he decided. And what to make of this girl?

"Oh, then are you upperclassmen?"

"Yep," the blue-haired boy announced proudly, "one more year of this shit and we're free! So, I guess that makes you a freshman, huh?" he leaned back into his chair, one that had been brought from somewhere else by the look of it...'Ulquiorra''s chair, too. She nodded and decided to creep a little bit closer to see what she could learn.

"Uh, can I ask you one thing?"

"Sure, what is it?" It was off-handed, casual, almost like he didn't care...almost like he had already accepted her and gotten use to her.

"Are you delinquents?" There, she said. So what? If they chose to come after with some motorcycle gang or weapons at least she would know the reason why.

"He is." the boys announced simultaneously with fingers pointed at the other. Growling, either one quickly flipped the other one off. Furiously, the two glared at each other before finally breaking eye-contact. "So what?" the blue-haired boy spoke first, "It ain't like we're the only ones skippin' class! What about you? You look pretty goody-shoes to me."

"Oh, well, my teacher left our class today. She said that she was retiring, and we don't have a substitute. Is that what happened to you?" Hotaru asked, hopeful that she would have something in common with them. Why, she wasn't sure...she felt drawn to them. Here were two outcasts just like herself-

"Psh, we might know that if we actually gave a shit about going to class." the blue-haired boy explained.

"Pardon him. He is an idiot. I simply do not wish to associate with those other people. And as for him...I have no excuse." the dark-haired boy spoke up. It had been awhile since he'd said more than two words, and of course, it would be something similar to throwing gasoline on a fire.

"Oh yeah, who the hell said I was your friend anyway? Damn bastard, you piss me off!"

"Grimmjow, kindly silence yourself before I make you."

'Grimmjow! So that's his name!' Hotaru quickly collected in-between comebacks and retorts. She had been just about to ask him anyway. But now...

"Oh yeah?! Well come on! I'll gladly kick your ass!"

"Oh, please don't fight!" Hotaru managed to shout over them. Clenching a fist, as well as what appeared to be sharpened teeth, Grimmjow growled then threw himself back into his seat. "Please, you see-"

"Hotaru, are you down here?" Hotaru looked behind her...it was Tatsuki's voice. They'd finally realized that she was missing. It feel good to her troubled soul to know that they had been concerned about her.

"Is that you?" Grimmjow asked with a shake of his head in her direction, quickly vacating his seat.

"Yes. That's my friend Tatsuki..." But it appeared that the two of them were no longer listening or caring to what she had to say.

"See, you fool, she was trouble from the start of it."

"Shuddup! I got it!" Roughly, Hotaru found herself being snatched by the elbow from the room, in Grimmjow's almost inhuman grasp. Following Ulquiorra, the three of them ended up in another room that was in, more or less, the same shape as the last one.

"No one ever comes here so it's the perfect place to be alone. I'd rather people not find out about this." Ulquiorra explained, opening what appeared to be a cabinet. Considering the state of the room, the cabinet was in noticeably better shape and looked to be able to fit a whole person inside...or rather, three people as Hotaru was soon to find out. She was quickly sandwiched in-between the two boys in the dark confines of the cabinet; Grimmjow's chest her support, and Ulquiorra's back up against her stomach.

This...this was so wrong! Hotaru couldn't stop her face from flushing red at the multitude of dirty thoughts that ran through her head. No, they were just hiding. That was all! Wait a minute, come to think...why was she hiding again? She could have just as easily gone out to greet Tatsuki and whomever else might have been with her. Oh no, just think of the embarrassment if someone were to find her with these boys! The idea made her head swim and her knees close to giving out. The choice was to either stay here and faint and risk knocking the cabinet over, or jump out and expose these delinquent's cutting class place. Hotaru decided to take her chances.

"Come on then Orihime, it doesn't look like she wandered in here." It was Tatsuki, her voice was easily discernible against the three's heavy breathing.

"Ooo-kay...I just hope nothing bad happened to her, like she got kidnapped by monsters or something!"

That was the last thing Hotaru Tomoe heard before she lost consciousness.

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"Hotaru? Yeah, that's it...wake up!"

Cracking her eyes open, still tired from her from little 'adventure' in the burnt out chemistry lab, Hotaru was relieved to see Orihime Inoue's face smiling down at her. "Orihime-san? Where am I?"

"You're in the clinic. The nurse says some boys brought you in here earlier, and I came running just as soon as I heard!" Orihime announced, a fist clenched in determination.

"Thank you." responded the dark-haired girl, managing to pull herself up into a sitting position. "I'm sorry about wandering off like that, Orihime-san. I was just..."

"Don't worry about it, Hotaru-chan. Actually, it was Hitsugaya-kun who first noticed you were gone!" she giggled lightly, but seemed to amend herself, "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it." Hotaru repeated in the same manner Orihime had used. The two girls both giggled sweetly.

"Oh, that reminds me...Matsumoto-san was here earlier, too. Hitsugaya-kun sent her with me to check up on you."

"Hitsugaya-kun?" Hotaru repeated, more to herself than the slightly distressed brunette girl. Perhaps he was one of the boys she'd seen with Ichigo's group earlier? She couldn't help but blush when the thought of one of them being worried about her surfaced.

"Orihime-chan!" The two girls looked to the doorway to find a very distraught strawberry-blond-haired woman at the door, "Look out! I brought the sake so everything is going to be okay soon!"

"Sake?" the unsuspecting girls chorused. Before either had time to react, Matsumoto seemed to 'flash' over to the bedside, grab a hold of Hotaru's chin, and pop the uncorked bottle in the girl's mouth. "Matsuomoto-san!" Orihime shrieked, jumping up from her seat, "Hotaru-chan says she's alright now! She's not allowed to drink alcohol either!" After a moment of letting that information sink in, Matsumoto removed the bottle quickly and popped the cork back on. A now, very drunken Hotaru, collapsed back onto the bed.

"Dammit, and all that sake went to waste then..." lamented the older woman with a sigh. She turned to leave soon after that, "Guess I'll go tell Sempai that she's okay..."

"Oh, Matsumoto-san..." moaned Orihime while looking over Hotaru's current state. What a rough day for her this must have been...first coming to a new school of which she had no idea about anything, then getting lost, then fainting, then being found by some strange boys, and now she was drunk in the infirmary.

Orihime clapped a hand to her forehead...what kind of crazy, mad world had this school fallen into?

"Oh, that's right...I never got to tell you." Orihime smiled down at a very flushed-cheeked Hotaru, "Because you weren't with us, Ichigo said he didn't feel much like heading to the gym at all." announced the girl with a giggle, practically verbatim, "I think you and Ichigo are gonna be good friends!"

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_**I know it's been awhile since I updated. All I can say is that I'm sorry...I don't really have any excuse, except too much videogames. Anyways, same thing as I mentioned above only there are some pairings that I will refuse to do:**_

_**Ichigo/Rukia**_

_**Ulquiorra/Orihime**_

_**Grimmjow/Orihime**_

_**Toshiro/Rangiku**_

_**Renji/Orihime**_

_**Uryu/Orihime**_

_**Halibel/anyone (I really hate her, sorry)**_

_**Ichigo/Yoruichi**_

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_**These are more personal preference rather than interfering with the story line. On the other hand, these are the suggestions I've received along with others I've considered:**_

_**Ichigo/Orihime**_

_**Renji/Rukia**_

_**Ichigo/Hotaru**_

_**Toshiro/Hotaru**_

_**Byakuya/Hotaru**_

_**Uryu/Ami**_

_**Shinji/Makoto (I'm liking your rare pair ideas, guys)**_

_**Wonderweiss/ Chibi-Usa**_

_**Usagi/Mamoru (eye twitches...that was unexpected, but a breath of fresh air)**_

_**Kyouraku/Nanao**_

_**Zaraki/Soi Fon (you read that right)**_

_**Zaraki/ Unohana**_

_**Hanatarou/Hotaru**_

_**Shuuhei/Isane**_

_**Uryu/Nemu**_

_**Gin/Rangiku**_

_**(Yeah, this story is turning out to be pretty epic (long) which explains the pairings. I need some help with the Inner Senshi.)**_

_**I plan on taking any other offered suggestions. Either that, or we can let the story write itself, you know? In response to this chapter: oh, love triangles (grabs popcorn). I need one more deciding vote on my poll on my profile before I can update Rare Pairs. Please!**_


	3. Choose Your Faction

_**A/N: I'm wondering if I should make this story have a Hotaru-harem situation. I usually try to keep that out of my stories unless I'm really meaning for it to happen or simply want to give the allusion to it. See, if it becomes a harem situation deal then you wouldn't know who Hotaru ended up with until near the very end, or maybe even mid-way. Makes it interesting, so I'll do it.**_

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**Chapter Three: Choose Your Faction**

Orihime carefully led Hotaru through the hallways by hand, having to stop every now and then and pull the giggling girl back onto her feet. After all, it was Hotaru who said she was well enough to head to the gym, so Orihime had involuntarily become the volunteer to take her there.

"There you guys are..." Orihime looked around at the sound of the familiar voice and found Ichigo to be the one who had spoken. Rukia and Renji also appeared to be with him. "Hey Ichigo," she responded happily, despite the fact that Hotaru was beginning to drool on her shoulder, right through the fabric of her shirt. "Uh...do I even want to ask what's up with her?" Ichigo returned, unable to acknowledge anything else at this point.

"Tch, that's nothing new," Renji remarked, "She looks just like Matsumoto when she gets trashed from drinking too much." No one needed an explanation as to how Hotaru came to be like that after his story.

"Uh, not that I don't like helping her, it's just...Hotaru is a bit of a handful when she's like this." Orihime piped up, hoping to not sound too mean. She didn't want to end up saying something hurtful and then have Hotaru remember when she grew sober again. That wasn't a very good way to keep friends, after all. Suddenly, something landed atop her head...it was Ichigo's hand. "Don't worry," he assured, "Renji can tote her."

Renji jumped, "Hey, don't go volunteering me for stuff, you strawberry!" he shot back, but then thought better of it with Rukia nearby. Shakily, he lifted the drunken girl onto his back and the remainder of the trio carried on in the direction of the gym. Now that he thought about it, Hotaru was almost about the same size as Rukia, wasn't she? That was kind of an odd coincidence, he remarked silently to himself.

* * *

Hotaru was swimming. She was swimming along, freely dipping down and then surfacing back up dizzily. Unfortunately, everyone else around wasn't privy to this wonderful, fleeting experience. She couldn't help but find certain things funny, even when there was no element of humor to be found in them. She'd sometimes just giggle for the hell of it. Other times, she was fighting with the waves she was swimming in to just stay seated. She wanted so badly to fall over on her side and sleep. However, both her sides were blocked by Rukia and Orihime, so she ended falling on them instead.

At that moment, something struck out. Who knows what made her do it...maybe it _was_ just the alcohol in her system, but without warning she found herself jolting up out of her seat. Nearly tripping over herself and the seat, she managed to climb off the bottom bleacher and make it to the railway. "GRIMMY-KUN! ULQUIORRIA-CHAN!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, waving her arms happily around, looking very much like a survivor stranded on a deserted island who was trying out SOS for the first time.

"Hotaru-chan!" Orihime quickly clapped a hand over her mouth while Rukia helped with holding the girl down. She posed no threat as the two other girls brought her back to their seat. "Hotaru-chan, what on Earth was all that for?" Orihime questioned, Rukia and herself each had a hold of an arm. "Yeah, those guys aren't actually the best people to call out to in a big crowd of people like this. You probably don't want to call out them period. They're...really creepy to say the least."

"No, no! Grimmy-kun and Ulqiorria-chan are my friends!" she bubbled happily, swaying side to side from where she was held captive.

"Yeah, I highly doubt that." Ichigo scoffed, glaring in their general directions from across the gym. Needless to say, he was earning himself two glares back on his own person.

"No, no, it's true! Actually, just earlier, we-" But Hotaru could say no more as a loud screeching sound rang throughout the speaker-system causing everyone to grab their ears. Apparently, it was time for the introductory speech. Hotaru just sat there, happy inside her drunken world.

* * *

"Aw, looks like we have a new friend..." 'Grimmy-kun' pointed out sarcastically. He did actually find this to be a bit amusing in his own way. Ulquiorria, however, didn't. "Yes, a nuisance, I agree..." he simply remarked, stone-faced as ever with his arms crossed over his chest. It wasn't like he was trying to uphold an image or anything (actually that was Grimmjow, and the only reason people were generally scared of him was because he hung around this idiot), but that little brat had still royally pissed him off. How dare she embarrass him like that? It was so...so annoying. How dare she consider them as friends? He was going to have to do something about this. He didn't know quite what, but he was thinking...

* * *

Suddenly, Hotaru found herself being pulled to her feet and led down the stairwell of the bleachers. Of course she had no idea where she was going but the good thing was that the waves were starting to subside for a bit. Then, she was free. Whoever had her had finally let go and was willing to let her roam around unhindered. She heard strange sounding voices, only tiny blips of their speech making sense. She had been left standing here, apparently she was currently right in the middle of the way until some older guy came and guided her over to a nearby table. There appeared to be a few more of these tables, the only difference between them being the color of their banners. They also appeared to have some kind of sign-in sheet sitting there in the front. Also, she was apparently holding up the line so she quickly picked up one of the nearby pens and shakily signed her name.

Hobbling out of the way, she was nearly run over by a horde of excited guys who were now mauling that poor table into pieces. What on Earth was so great about that table? Heck, now that was she was thinking a bit more clearer, despite the giant headache she could feel coming on, why had she just gone and signed that paper without even checking to see what it was? Well, it couldn't have been anything harmful...after all, this was a school; supposedly one of the safest places in the world. Maybe it was some kind of agreement or a waiver that dealt with grades? Whatever it was, it wasn't worth worrying about right now, said the voice in her head. Right now was the time to be finding a nice dark room complete with a pillow, blanket, a glass of water, and some aspirin.

"Hotaru-chan!" That must have been Orihime, her mind told her. Looking up, she found the orange-haired girl gliding over to greet her. "Sorry about losing in the crowd like that. Everyone was just being so pushy! I tried valiantly to fight them all off but in the end we were separated." she announced rather dramatically, swiftly karate-chopping the air for effect as she did so. "So, what did you sign up for?"

"Sign up for...? You mean...those?" Well, she could almost form coherent sentences again. Hotaru pointed to the booth whose different colored banners still held no letters, words, or numbers (and even if they'd had any she wouldn't have been able to read them anyways).

"Well of course, silly! What else could I mean?" she asked, no irritation anywhere. "Oh wait, you can actually speak again!" the orange-haired girl pointed in disbelief. "That's good. For a minute I thought we might have take you to an AA meeting. Oh yeah, so what did you sign up for?"

Orihime's sweet nature was beginning to be a bit too much on the Saturnian's throbbing skull, but she managed to look around the gym once more. "Wait just a second Orihime. Just what exactly were we signing up for again?"

"Wow, you must have been pretty out of it...the principal was telling us about all the new changes to the school...how most of the teachers are getting replaced, and how most of our normal classes are getting replaced..and most importantly, our Factions!" Orihime grinned widely.

"Wha-...Factions?"

"I'll be sure to fill you in on all the details later. You should come and spend the night at my house tonight! Tatsuki's coming too! So, which one did you sign up for?" the girl was practically exploding with excitement.

Even though Hotaru was still technically out of her mind, this question was really grating on her nerves. "Um...that one." she stated calmly, "the one with the red banner."

"Huh?" Orihime murmured, unsure as she followed the dark-haired girl's finger to the red-banner-ed booth. "Oh, wow! I never pictured you as a fighter, Hotaru! You must be really super strong then! Tatsuki signed up there too! Aw, but that means I'll be all alone then...oh, but don't mind me! I promise to try really hard in my Faction too!"

Hotaru's mind went blank. A fighter? Well, technically yes because she was Sailor Saturn, but her skills lay more towards healing the sick and injured. Hold the phone...what the heck was a Fighting Faction doing in a school? What the hell was that all about? Never mind the bit about the Factions, but just what the heck was the school trying to accomplish with categories like these? "Orihime, that must mean you-"

"Yep, I signed up for the Healing Faction! They said that they'd teach us all different kinds of medicine stuff and other really cool stuff!" Obviously she couldn't remember all of what she'd been told, but the part she did remember had stuck in her brain well enough that she'd wanted to join. Hold on again, Hotaru's mind shouted. If Orihime was in the Healing Faction, and Tatsuki wasn't in the same group but was instead in the same group as she was that must mean...

Hotaru Tomoe was now a member of the Fighting Faction.

"I need to lie down for a minute now..." Hotaru whispered before collapsing on the floor of the gym.

"Oh no, not again!" Orihime grimaced, looking around for any sign of help from Ichigo or Renji. Apparently, they'd already taken off for the night and so had Rukia and everyone else she knew. It couldn't have been past 6 since it wasn't that long ago that school let out, so where had they gone in such a hurry, wondered the orange-haired girl, oblivious of the obvious answer: home.

"Looks like you need some help." offered a voice.

"Oh thank-" Orihime would have continued if she could have actually breathed at the moment. Was Grimmjow, THE creepy Grimmjow actually talking to her. "Oh, thanks but no thanks," she managed to sputter, "I'm sure I can carry Hotaru all on my own!" she assured confidently, but Grimmjow was having none of it.

"Just shut up and accept my generosity. You won't be seeing or hearing from it ever again." his attempt at being a little bit humorous just terrorized her even more. Still unable to move, she watched as the blue-haired delinquent-type picked up Hotaru like he was the big bad wolf come to pick another sheep to eat out of the flock. "You comin' or not?" he asked harshly, knocking Orihime out of her stupor and forcing her to follow.

"I assume you know where she lives if you're friends, right?" he asked, looking over the shoulder that didn't have Hotaru's head laying on top of it.

"Actually, I was hoping you would. She said that you were her friend." Orihime replied a little shakily. Here she was, practically alone with this scary guy. Who knew what he was capable of? At least he didn't have that other guy with him, Orihime decided. "Oh well, actually, I was hoping that she would come and spend the night at my house with me and Tatsuki. Tatsuki already went on ahead of us." She watched as he nodded...obviously he didn't care about that. But he must have had some reason for wanting to help them out? Oh no, maybe he liked her? No, that was out of the question! She hadn't even gotten to tell Ichigo her true feelings yet! Maybe, fortunately, he actually liked Hotaru? Orihime quickly took it back, not wanting to wish bad things on her new friend. Orihime also didn't find it very comforting that now he'd know exactly where her house was.

"Um...take a right up here." she replied reluctantly, as the two finally made it outside of the school and stood at the gates. The rest of their walk to Orihime's house was silent, except for the various direction-giving. Orihime swallowed, maybe Tatsuki wouldn't ask too many questions when they got there...

* * *

_**And yeah, that's it for this chapter. I have fun writing these chapters. I'm also thinking about doing a Tatsuki/Grimmjow pairing. I've only ever read one of those, so I think I want to try my hand at it. Oh, and it's up to you to deduce which guys I'll use in this reverse-harem. Also, that doesn't mean they won't end up with anyone else if they get rejected.**_


	4. DAY 2

_**A/N: So...I got a weird urge to update this even though everyone is probably like...what the heck is this about again? Ah well, I had fun writing anyways. And many thanks for the reviews I've received so far.**_

* * *

**Chapter 4: DAY 2**

"Something just doesn't feel right about this..." Orihime admitted a little solemnly as she dug through Hotaru's bag.

"It'll be fine." Tatsuki assured her with a smile and nod from across the room, fanning Hotaru with a fan made of notebook paper. "You're doing this for a good cause. After all, we have to tell her parents where she is, Hime-chan." Orihime nodded back, still a little shaken from having to walk home beside Grimmjow. Imagine Tatsuki's surprise when she'd come to the door, hours late, with a drunk girl and creeper in tow. Orihime was just glad that the girl had kept her temper and let him leave without fight or fuss. She knew Tatsuki especially didn't care for the guy but she didn't know exactly why. She did know she was better off not knowing period. Finally, she discovered a tiny notebook pushed down to the very bottom of the bag.

"Okie-dokie, this looks to be it..." Orihime noted as she thumbed through the book, carefully reading through each number that had been written down. Obviously, she'd have kept her family under a name as such or either father or mother if they had different numbers. Orihime gave a small noise of confusion, twisting her mouth in response. There wasn't anything under family, father, or mother in her address book. She continued to read on, this time looking for anyone with Hotaru's last name, Tomoe. Once again, this search proved unfruitful. That's when her eye caught something. In the section 'P', there was a tiny note written in different print than Hotaru's. It was pushed into the corner of the page, almost as if it were meant to be forgotten. The header read 'Papa'. Something didn't feel right though, still, Orihime had no choice but to grab her phone and with shaky hand did she dial the scribbled number.

The phone rang only once or twice. Orihime found herself not paying much attention until the other end of the phone clicked and there was silence. "Hello?" she asked, waiting for an answer. She nearly jumped when a woman's voice came over the phone. "We're sorry, the number you have dialed has either been disconnected or is no longer in service. Please hang up the phone." The phone clicked again, this time leaving a tone buzzing in the background.

"What's wrong?" Tatsuki asked, pausing in her task. "They not pick up or something?"

Orihime shook her head, "Uh, nope. Better try another one." she said with an uneasy smile. Why did this feel so strange to her? She hadn't eaten anything strange that day (at least not to her tastes) and yet her stomach felt like it was biting her insides out. She flipped back to the beginning of the address book, looking to see if it had an emergency contact section. She felt rather silly for not having checked it in the first place and nearly did so when she found the entry marked 'Home.'

She called it, and this time, a rather masculine voice answered, "Hello?"

"Hi there. Is this the Tomoe residence?" She just wanted to make sure, and if it wasn't, maybe they could direct her to the right number.

"Sorry, but Hotaru's not in. We're...actually looking for her right now."

Orihime couldn't help but giggle, "That's the thing, uh, sir. Hotaru is here at my house right now. My name is Orihime Inoue and we're classmates. There was a...mishap at school today and she decided to spend the night here with me, if that's okay."

"Mishap? Like what?"

Orihime gave a sad smile...overprotective father, huh? "Oh, nothing bad. She just happened to get a little tired out today." Leaving out the drunken journey through the school had probably been a good idea.

"Oh I see..." came the response, "Hotaru does tend to get tired out easily. Thank you for looking after her then. If you need to get in touch with us again, feel free to call here anytime. Orihime, was it? My name is Haruka, Haruka Tenoh. You can tell Hotaru I said hi when she wakes up."

"Oh, sure! Thank you! Well, I don't want to keep you since I know it's late." The two exchanged good-byes and hung up. "Well, that wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it would be." Orihime remarked, heading to hang the phone up back in its home. "Well...now what?" she turned to Tatsuki with a smile.

"Dinner, obviously! I'm starved over here!" Tastuki gave her a toothy grin and a wink, hoping it would reassure her. "Now let's see...I wonder what Hotaru likes..." Tatsuki mused, heading towards the kitchen with Orihime in tow. "I haven't been grocery shopping yet but there should be enough stuff to make something for the three of us." the orange-haired girl admitted, slipping away from Tatsuki's side to the other end of the kitchen.

Back in the living room, Hotaru stirred on the couch. She had a raging headache, and the bright light of the room wasn't making it any better. Right then and there she vowed never to get drunk again. Rolling over, she saw on the nearby table that a glass of water and some pills, most likely aspirin, had been left for her. Hotaru thanked the Gods for her good fortune in finding such nice friends so quickly. Her life really had turned a complete 180 after meeting the Sailor Senshi. She gulped down the pills and water, then followed the sound of voices to the kitchen where she found Orihime and Tatsuki, wrist deep in some kind of food concoction.

* * *

"So you gotta tell me, Hotaru...why on Earth were you hanging around Grimmjow? He's not exactly friendly." Tatsuki remarked, taking a bit of food. Hotaru bit down on her chopsticks in return, "Well...to be honest...a lot of it is still really fuzzy." Truthfully, she remembered good and well being smashed in the closet between Grimmjow and Ulquiorria. She'd fainted then too, but for quite a different reason.

"Well, all I'm saying is, you may want to avoid him for future reasons. Hardly anyone in the school could vouch for the guy and say he's friendly or anything. The only person that can seem to stand him is that other weirdo, Ulquiorria, or whatever."

"Tatsuki, you seem to really dislike Grimmjow. Is...something wrong?" Hotaru asked innocently. Tatsuki had been wearing the same scowl on her face ever since the topic of him arose. The other dark-haired girl shook her spikes, "Absolutely not. He's just a jerk, and I always want to be able to protect my friends." Hotaru could tell that this was where the topic ended for tonight.

Orihime giggled from her side of the table, "Did you know, Tatsuki? You and Hotaru are going to be classmates in the factions from now. She signed up for the fighting faction!"

"Really?" Tatsuki asked, wide-eyed, "Not to sound mean Hotaru, but you really don't seem the type. I mean, there's going to be some really strong people in this group! A little bit of training probably isn't going to be enough."

Hotaru sighed, "I know. In truth, it was really an accident. I'd fit in much better with Orihime in the Healing Faction." She could have held her in own in Sailor form, but she obviously couldn't do that. Not only would everyone find out her secret, it didn't sit right with her to fight a group of normal humans, no matter how much martial arts training these humans had had.

"Welp, that was delicious! Anymore for you guys?" Orihime readily jumped up for more, but Hotaru declined, barely having finished off her first plate of food. She'd never been a big eater and probably never would be. "Do you mind if I take a shower? I hate to be a burden."

"Oh, you're no trouble, Hotaru-chan. I can wash your uniform for you too if you'd like...well, you probably want it anyways." the orange-headed girl giggled, "Just leave your uniform outside the door and I'll take care it."

"Thank you, Orihime-san. You're way too kind." she gave a small bow to both the other girls and headed for the bathroom. It was a small room, just a mirror and a shower, with the actual toilet a little ways further down the hall. She took her time stripping off her new uniform. The once clean-smelling, gray outfit was now covered in ash from the burnt chemistry lab and small dots of dried sake. It honestly smelled like smoke and alcohol, not good in any sense of the matter. Tomorrow, she'd be much more careful at school, she remarked, feeling almost like she was lying to herself. She sat the uniform outside and quickly jumped into the hot water of the shower. It was too refreshing for words, really.

Suddenly, something didn't feel right. Hotaru snatched back the shower curtain to an empty room. Strange, it felt like...someone had been watching her.

* * *

Grimmjow lie awake, staring the total darkness of the ceiling in his room. He couldn't sleep, not that he ever got much of the stuff, but tonight was different. He'd started...thinking. He began thinking about that little purple-haired girl, Hotaru. She was odd to say the least. She'd called out to him and that damn Ulquiorria without so much as a care in the world. What on Earth would compel her to do that? She'd obviously been terrified of them at first back in the burnt-out chemistry lab. It didn't really add up to him. Oh well, he decided, rolling over to pull himself out of bed, he'd have all the time in the world to ask her tomorrow. They were in the same faction after all.

* * *

Tuesday morning rolled around way too quickly, and found the three girls rushing around to get ready. Hotaru stripped out of Orihime's borrowed t-shirt and back into her uniform for the day ahead. Tatsuki and Orihime followed pretty much the same routine, with the three eating a quick breakfast before heading out the door.

Upon arriving at the school, the three were amazed at what they saw.

"This is neat!" Orihime remarked, pulling Tatsuki and Hotaru with her as she ran in the direction of Ichigo's hair...it did kind of stand out in a crowd. "Hi Ichigo! Good morning!" she chorused happily.

"Oh hey, you...three." he had to correct himself when he laid eyes on Hotaru. To be honest, he'd kind of forgotten about her...she kinda disappeared in a big crowd.

"So, what's the big deal with everyone just standing around?" Tatsuki asked, referring to the entire student body who littered the opening of the school. Ichigo shrugged in response, "Door's locked. It doesn't look like anybody's getting in there anytime soon. I'm thinking of leaving. I got better things to do than stand around here all day." Tatsuki opened her mouth to protest, but found herself interrupted.

"Running away already? Didn't think you'd be that afraid to lose to me!" Tatsuki blinked...well, someone had just taken the words right out of her mouth. "Shut up, Renji. You know I can kick your ass any day of the week."

Hotaru smiled, the factions hadn't even officially started yet and these two were ready to tear each other apart. As the group conversed, Hotaru took the time to look around to see if she could spot anymore familiar faces...there certainly were a lot of odd looking people gathered on the school grounds. Most of them definitely did not look to be students, so maybe some of them were teachers? She couldn't remember seeing half of these people yesterday. She tapped Orihime's shoulder and mentioned she was going for a walk. As she begin to leave, she heard Keigo and Mizuiro complaining about how there wasn't a group for hot chicks, probably unaware of the fact that even if there were, they wouldn't be allowed anywhere near it.

The front doors were locked just as Ichigo had said, but that didn't stop her from trying. The new teachers were probably being briefed and were hurriedly trying to set things up inside, she figured. Hotaru continued to walk about the school grounds, leaving the front to the large, rambunctious group, and headed for the back. Surely they had tennis courts of some kind or at least some kind of recreational sports place-these kinds of places meant bleachers, and that meant a place to sit down and rest. She did find bleachers...but there had to be catch. They just so happened to be occupied.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Goody Two-Shoes," Hotaru grimaced, wishing now that she'd just stayed put with the group, "How was your little hangover yesterday?" It was Grimmjow, practically laughing his head off about what he said, her expression, or both. Hotaru sighed, trying to keep calm, "It's much better, thank you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back." Hotaru turned on her heel, planning to go back the way she came...it was odd, she remarked, today Grimmjow was alone.

"You can hang around a bit, can't you?" he drawled out slowly, getting up from his seat in quite a hurry. Hotaru heard him shuffle behind her and decided to pick up the speed. She didn't want to be alone with him...her mind yelled for her to run and she did. Quickly, turning a corner, she smacked foreheads with someone. The force of the blow knocked her onto her butt, meanwhile sending the other stumbling backwards.

"Ouch! Watch where you're going!" The voice was firm, a no-nonsense tone to it. Hotaru winced, clapping a hand to her forehead before opening her eyes. It was the white-haired boy, Hitsugaya, from yesterday. "Hm, you seem familiar. We've met before, haven't we?" he asked, extending a hand to help her get up. Hotaru gasped as he pulled her to her feet, " I can't talk right now, someone's-!" she stopped and looked over her shoulder. There was no one there. Where had he gone? She could have sworn he was right behind her. She searched frantically behind her as she panted, taking grateful gulps of air. She hadn't just been running...she'd been sprinting.

"What's wrong?" Toshiro cocked an eyebrow at her in confusion...she was rather strange.

"Oh, um...nothing, I suppose. My name is Hotaru Tomoe." she greeted, turning back around to face him again, "We have met before. It was yesterday in the hallway before I was separated from the group." he nodded his head in understanding. He crossed his arms before speaking again, "Also, I apologize for Matsumoto's behavior yesterday. She's...always like that." Was that a sigh she heard? He seemed a little too stressed out to be a high school kid. Hotaru waved it off, promising that there was no harm done, just as someone called out to him.

"Shiro-kun! Come quickly please! I need your help with something!" Hotaru turned to look, just as he did, and spied another short, dark-haired girl who wore her hair in a neat bun. Hotaru couldn't help but think it was nice to see some many people who were actually on eye level with her. He apologized for their collision, as did she, before heading off to the other girl.

"Maybe we'll run into each other again..." she whispered with a laugh, knowing it was a rather bad pun. Quickly remembering what had transpired earlier, she took no chances and made her way back to Orihime and Tatsuki. Grimmjow might be lurking around still. She didn't know what it was, but...she was terrified of being around him alone.

* * *

The front door was eventually unlocked and the students filed in. It was nothing short of disorder and chaos with people pushing each other all over the place. They had been instructed to get their new schedules which would basically list their faction and their instructor for now. There were also all kinds of forms to fill out which made Hotaru's head spin. They just couldn't have made this easy, could they? After managing to fill out everything, Hotaru turned in the papers to receive her schedule. Plain as day, the paper listed her as being in the fighting faction. Not a single person looked free to help her with her problem and her request for a change would more than likely fall on deaf ears.

After school would probably be a more appropriate time she decided, moving out of the way to let someone else by. She'd promised to meet up later with Orihime and Tatsuki if possible, but for now, she was supposed to meet her instructor to get the rest of her schedule. Well, just one day in this faction shouldn't have been a problem. It would probably be like the first day of school where all you did was fill out forms and took time getting to know your teacher.

Hotaru pulled out her soon to be replaced schedule and found the name of her instructor. The characters read Suì-Fēng, if you put them in Japanese. She wasn't sure what to make of this, or even whether the instructor would be male or female. But, she supposed that didn't matter...she was going to transfer out of this as soon as school was over.

The directions on the schedule led her to the gym first, and then to the room where the now extinct kendo club used to meet. It was complete with sliding doors and tatami mat floors, but all in all, it was missing one thing and that was people. "Um, excuse me?" Hotaru called out, promptly taking off her brown school shoes, and slipping inside the room. There seemed to be no one here...maybe they left already? She twisted her mouth in a frown before turning to leave. Sensing something behind her, Hotaru turned around quickly, almost finding her eye being impaled on something, and ducked to miss contact. She gasped, laying back down on the tatami...had someone just...attacked her?

"Hmph," came a voice that was promptly followed by the sound of metal cutting the air with a 'swoosh'. "I suppose that will do for now." Hotaru, still shaken, turned to look for her assailant. She found a darker-toned, yet not exactly tan, woman who appeared to be her height. She had dark hair wore in double braids that reached down her back, covered with white holders, while the majority of her dark hair ended just about her ears in a glory of spiky tendrils. She wore some kind of white robe as well as black hakama pants; a yellow sash tied about the robe to hold it together.

"S-Suì-Fēng-sensei?" Hotaru questioned, getting off of her back and onto her feet.

The woman didn't turn around, instead choosing to look over her shoulder, "You will address me as -sama, not -sensei. Yes, I am Suì-Fēng...best you remember it well. Are you really under my jurisdiction or are you perhaps lost?" The woman sounded like a commander of some kind...almost as if she were used to controlling large groups.

"Yes, Suì-Fēng-sama..." It felt weird addressing a teacher as such but she definitely didn't want to go against this woman. "My name is Hotaru Tomoe." The woman was silent, thinking most likely, as she ran the name over through her head.

"Yes, I recall the name." Suì-Fēng turned around to look at her, her harsh features a direct contrast to Hotaru's own. Hotaru had seen that look in her eyes somewhere before...it reminded her of Sailor Saturn. "I'm afraid we have a noticeable lack of female students in this faction, therefore I've had to pair you with a male training partner." This woman really was no-nonsense. She was straight to the point of things. "You should find your schedule for the rest of your classes over there, by the way. Your training partner, I believe, is named Ichigo Kurosaki. Also, I expect you to improve at least a little bit by the time class begins. Your technique is rather sloppy. Good day, Hotaru-san." And with that, she disappeared. Hotaru couldn't believe her eyes...she really had disappeared...and with just a single jump. She was really an amazing person.

Hotaru walked over to where she had been instructed and grabbed her new schedule and everything. It wasn't until she walked outside and began heading back to the main building that it hit her. Ichigo was supposed to be her fighting partner. Had she planned on staying, she'd have found this great news, even though she knew she'd probably just be holding him back. She couldn't help but wonder if he knew as well.

It was getting to be about lunchtime, she decided, checking her watch. Orihime and Tatsuki had invited her to come have lunch with them in one of the courtyards so that way she could talk and meet with the other girls and make some new friends. They'd given her instructions that morning and she slowly began to follow them...she didn't want to get there too early and look odd sitting all by herself. She smiled as she went along, blocking out most of her surroundings until the sound of footsteps came into earshot. They were faint, walking exactly in time with hers. It wasn't all that strange though...she was at school and it wasn't like other people were forbidden from walking the school grounds. Hotaru cast a glance over her shoulder just to appease her curiosity and nearly groaned...it was Grimmjow.

He must have noticed her glance because he called out to her, "Hey, slow down. I wanna talk to you."

Hotaru tried her best to ignore him, pretending as though she hadn't hear him and continued walking on her merry way. However, with his legs being much longer than hers, it didn't take long for him to catch up. "I said slow down, bitch! We have things to talk about!" Her temper flared in that instant and she couldn't help spinning around to face him, "And just who do you think you are? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Her courage faded quick when she saw the look in his eyes...it was suffocating.

"Why the hell did you call out to me yesterday like that? You made me look an idiot!" Hotaru's face contorted in confusion...had she really done that? She couldn't remember anything past Matsumoto barging into the infirmary. True, she'd woken up some time later in the gym, but she hadn't even been entirely sure on how she'd got there.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." she replied honestly, eyes downcast.

He growled, "'The hell you don't!" and proceeded to slam her back into a wall, knocking the back of her head against it as well. "I understand you're new, but people learn quick to avoid us like the plague. Why the hell are you so different?" Hotaru didn't understand at all what she'd done wrong and probably never would...he was rambling nonsense. Once her head stopped spinning, Hotaru began to reach her for her henshin wand; there was no one around luckily, and she could easily knock him out and make him forget everything. She had to get him off of her somehow-

"Hey you! Get off of her!" A flying kick was aimed at his jawbone, which he quickly ducked, letting his grip on Hotaru's wrist go. Next, she felt Orihime by her side, holding her shoulders. Hotaru looked up and spied Tatsuki practically going for Grimmjow's throat, and she couldn't but yell out, "Tatsuki, don't!" He was definitely too strong for Tatsuki to take on by herself.

Tatsuki bounced back and threw a spinning kick at his head which Grimmjow caught in an inhuman vice-grip, almost as if he meant to break her ankle. It felt as time were frozen then, and even Hotaru felt herself unable to move.

"That is quite enough. Foolishness will not be permitted here." The sound of a loud tap was heard, the sound of wood hitting cement, and the two girls looked over to see who had appeared. He was a rather old-looking man with an impossibly long beard. The stick her carried appeared to be nothing more than a walking stick, but the power that hung in the air told otherwise.

"Aah, what is this?" growled Tatsuki while Grimmjow echoed her confusion with a "Dammit, I can't move."

"I would like the three of you to come to my office, and that is most certainly not a request." He tapped the stick along the ground as he walked away from the group, finding themselves able to move only after the old man had gone inside.

"Wait a minute, three...did he mean 'me', too?" Hotaru asked, looking up at Orihime in confusion. Even if he had meant Orihime, Hotaru knew she had to go anyways. It was already bad enough she'd gotten Tatsuki into trouble as well. Not wanting to feel that power again, the trio quickly headed inside, following the man's footsteps exactly; Grimmjow noticeably lagging behind. Orihime waved to her friends solemnly...maybe she should go tell Ichigo and the others about this? They should have been on the roof eating lunch by now.

* * *

"Well now...Hotaru Tomoe-san, was it?" she nodded, having already taken a wooden seat inside the old man's office. She could have guessed easily he was a teacher, but the head principal was another story. He seemed kind enough yet obviously he held a rough and tough side that few folk ever got to see...and those few people obviously would have wished they'd never seen it to begin with. "You've never had a record of trouble-making before so might I ask what all that was outside?"

"Well, sir, actually..." she paused, casting a glance over her shoulder.

"Don't fret, he can't hear us in here. And do not worry about him, we shall take the appropriate measures when it comes to these problems students. He won't be bothering you again." Hotaru nodded in response, not believing a word of it. Grimmjow would find a way to be around her even if he had to go so far as to follow her home...why he would even want to still puzzled her now.

"Actually, he was the one who confronted me. I apparently made him mad about something. Tatsuki simply thought he was hurting me and jumped in to protect me! There's no reason to punish her, sir!" Her sentences were short, sweet, and to the point. Hotaru found herself a little afraid to tell him useless details..

"I see..." the man trailed, writing something onto a piece of paper clipped to a note board. "Despite the fact that all of you are in the Training Faction, we do not tolerate fights without supervision." That was a very unexpected answer...shouldn't it have been more like..."We don't tolerate fights on this campus." Then again, everything had taken a turn for the odd. "You see, we shall allow the Training Faction to test their skills as soon as possible but these fights must be done with the supervision of a teacher or an instructor or else they will be seen as misbehavior to be dealt with, and of course, the student will receive no grade for this." Hotaru's head felt like swimming...what an odd school she'd found herself in in this life.

"I...I see. I'll make sure to keep that in mind, sir." she bowed from her seat as much as possible. "Oh, by the way, sir, I was wondering...is there any way I could transfer out of the...Training Faction?" she'd used his word for it as perhaps this is what the teachers referred to it as. "You see, it was an accident that I ended up there and would be much more suited to the Healing Faction."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but that is out of my powers. What has been done is done and there's no changing it." Hotaru paled...you mean she was stuck in this faction forever? This was not good. She'd definitely have to call Haruka's training sessions back on or else she wouldn't even stand a chance up against these guys; her human body couldn't fight back with the strength her celestial body could. Maybe she could learn to channel Saturn and her power without transforming? Yeah, that was nice a dream.

"Oh, and before you leave, you have to take this with you." The bearded principal handed her a slip of paper that had been folded rather neatly, which she accepted without question. It was probably a pass back to class. She thanked him again, hoping Tatsuki would be let off the hook as well. She didn't really care what happened to Grimmjow despite the fact that he was literally glaring daggers at her as she walked out and right by him.

Luckily, she was still paired up with Ichigo so this Fighting Faction may not be so bad after all.

Once she was a safe enough distance away, she decided to unfurl the tiny slip of paper for curiosity's sake. It was hand-written for sure but in very neat kanji. It read 'detention'...fun.

* * *

_**Yes, the other Senshi will appear eventually but as I mentioned in earlier chapters, this story is turning out to be rather long...**_


	5. Much Ado About Hotaru

**Chapter 5: Much Ado About Hotaru**

Hotaru grimaced to herself, practically biting her tongue to keep her words from spilling out in a rage. She was currently seated at a desk in the detention room, right up at the front, and she was certainly not happy about it. She'd been given the chance to call Haruka and Michiru to inform them of what had happened, but not in so much detail...it was just easier to tell them she was staying late at school. It wouldn't help her situation any if Haruka stormed down to the school, guns blazing with a hunger for the blood of those who had dared attacked her. Nope, that wouldn't do.

Hotaru gritted her teeth, desperately trying to think of something, anything else that would keep her mind off of the irritating noise coming from the back of the class. Of course she would have to suffer through this with him. Grimmjow, on the other hand, didn't seem too upset about it however, nor was he the picture of happiness at the moment. His mood had improved slightly when the teacher decided to leave the room for a moment...something in Hotaru's gut told her that the teacher wouldn't be coming back soon enough.

"So..." he drawled, finally ceasing that infernal noise-making he'd been doing. Hotaru remained rigid, refusing to turn and look at him. She was going to be silent and behave like a good student...

"Hey, you're the only other person in here, I'm obviously talking to you." Hotaru inhaled deeply before releasing it in an irritated manner. "Don't make me come up there." he warned playfully, giving a small laugh afterward that Hotaru glared at it. He was just so...insufferable. What was his problem with her? It wasn't like she'd offended him or anything, at least not that she could remember doing. Still, there had to be a reason he was pestering her...-SLAM!

Hotaru jumped at the sound of his hand slamming against the desk she sat in. She couldn't help but start at the noise, but quickly turned a cold gaze up at his smug, grinning face. "Told ya," he said in a knowing way before heading up towards the biggest desk at the front of the room, the teacher's desk. "So, what say you and I get to know each other better? Looks like we're gonna be stuck here for awhile anyways." With a hop, he cleanly seated himself on the desk's surface.

"No thanks." she answered simply, turning her gaze towards the exit. Maybe if she were fast enough...no, that would never work. He'd be on her before she even cleanly got up from her desk. And since she didn't even understand what his intentions were, Hotaru really didn't want to risk it. She'd wanted to smack herself for having thoughts that he might actually like her, but every time the notion appeared in her thoughts, she quickly banished it before it came to fruition. This guy was bad news, not to mention she despised him. Plain and simple.

"Don't be like that...we're friends, remember?" she stiffened, not even wanting to guess what kind of face he could have been making at the moment. When he saw she wouldn't turn back to look at him, he exhaled and shifted his shoulders. "Alright then, I'll start..." Hotaru rolled her eyes, still cast sideways looking out towards the door; what did he honestly hope to accomplish with this...story time ruse? Whatever he says, it's probably a lie, she told herself.

"See, I'll tell you something about me, and then you tell me something interesting about you. Fair trade, right?" he didn't wait for any kind of answer from, continuing his semi-speech, "Bet you've noticed it by now, but I talk kinda funny." Well, now that he brought it up, yeah, he kind of did, Hotaru remarked. She'd merely dubbed it as some kind of accent or lisp and hadn't thought much else about it; he didn't look like any kind of transfer student but she didn't know for a fact nor did she really care at the moment.

"Yeah, it's kinda irritating, but I brought it on myself. See, the whole right side of my jaw? Completely fake. Bones, teeth, and all." There was slight hint of pride in his tone, but Hotaru could feel its forced nature. "How so?" she questioned before she could stop herself. She hadn't meant to seem interested in his story. He gave a slight smirk that didn't go unnoticed by her and continued,

"Well, back in middle school I used to be a part of this gang-"

"Not surprising..." she murmured, but listened on.

"It was the last year the guys and me would be able to hang out. All of us going to different schools and job shit, you know? And so one night we went out to party and just have a damn good time. Turns out, some punks we beat up a few weeks had been calling us out for a rematch. How the hell were we supposed to turn that down, I mean, we couldn't, you know?" Hotaru could only shake her head, violence was definitely never the answer. "So we go to meet up under the bridge where we kicked their asses the last time...well, they brought more guys than us. It was basically an ambush. They beat us so fucking bad..." Grimmjow gave a small laugh, desperate, pitiable-sounding. It sounded hopeless, and it hit to the very center of her heart. There was no way he could be lying about this story, no matter how good of an act he might try to have put on, and she genuinely felt sorry for him. However, she could tell he wasn't finished and so she finally turned her head away from the door to look back up at him. His teal eyes were cast away from her, distant, probably reliving the climax of the story he meant to tell.

"Right here." he pointed to his right jaw and turned slightly so that she could see, "Some guy hit in me the face with a metal pipe. Knocked me out for most of the fight...shattered my jaw completely and busted all of my teeth out on this side. When I woke up, everyone was gone. I thought my frie-the guys, had gone off to beat those punks up for good, but when I looked, there were all just laying there on the ground. Dead. Stabbed, beaten to death."

Hotaru gasped, petite hands slowly coming to her mouth as she turned away. She could feel her eyes bugging out in disbelief, and the churning of her stomach made her feel ill. How could...how could someone be so cruel as to do that to another human being? She had tried to stop being so tender a person, but...she just couldn't help but care about people. His slip of words hadn't gone unnoticed either, Grimmjow had almost called his gang members his friends. This story spoke a lot to her about him, gave her a sense of understanding and an explanation for his actions. The reasons he seemed so obsessed with her was probably because he was paranoid of her and what she might or might not do. And if she did indeed do the things he'd accused her of, she felt rather...bad. It had to be hard for him to form connections to people after that. It was only natural that he was curious as to why she'd called out to him and acted friendly. Wait a minute...her mind paused, thinking back to an earlier time, back right before Tatsuki had stood up to him.

He had once told her that people learned to keep their distance from him. He asked why she was so different. Then, it hit her. But how could she have known the story? "They...you were blamed for their deaths...weren't you?" It was barely more than a whisper, the girl talking more to her desk than to the blue-haired boy in front of her. He coughed, a low grunt rising in his throat, "Yeah..."

A thick silence hung in the air for a while. Grimmjow spoke, seemingly continuing from where he left off, "Yeah...I mean, pretty fucking suspicious to anybody else, right? All of my guys end up dead and I'm the only one left alive. Why would I kill them? Doesn't make any fucking sense..."

"I believe you." There was no way someone sounding so sincere would be lying, could be lying. Hotaru rose from seat, almost surprised at her actions. He was close enough that she could grab his hand, and feeling as if she were under some kind of spell, slowly grabbed a hold of it. "I...I'm so sorry." she whispered, offering her sympathy to him. After that, he must have been ignored, feared, by his other classmates and undoubtedly treated like an outcast for something that wasn't his fault. She couldn't help but feel...drawn. It reminded her of the days before the Sailor Senshi and made her heart hurt. It wasn't until now, standing right beside him, did she notice just how tall he was, his muscles, things she hadn't really noticed until now.

Hotaru released his hand all too soon, not wanting to linger and give the wrong impression. She felt terrible for him, she truly did, but...this didn't give him the right to go around picking fights with other people, especially those that didn't deserve it like Tatsuki and herself. She turned away then, heading for the door, barely managing to murmur out something about needing to go to the restroom when he spoke up.

"Hey. Your friend...the black-haired chick? Sorry about that." she waited to hear him tack a negative on to the end, something along the lines of Tatsuki was asking to be punched, but it never came. This apology was genuine. Hotaru nodded from where she had paused in the doorway, "I'll be sure to let her know." Strange, it was like he had read her mind.

* * *

With a rush, she made it to the school bathroom, sure that a trail of fire lay blazing behind her heels. She felt her emotions in a scramble, heart beating fast in her chest and sweat beading upon her forehead. Why she felt this strange, she couldn't tell. Maybe she was getting sick again? Hopefully she wasn't, she hated being sick. Hopefully, Grimmjow hadn't given her any sickness. Hopefully he wasn't the one causing this strange sickness...no, she was sure of that...it wasn't him or anything he had done.

But why had she grabbed his hand? That, in and of itself gave out the wrong impression. Great, she decided, he definitely wouldn't leave her alone now. It was like she was holding the door right open for him, saying 'Come on in!' Realizing she'd have to be back quick, lest the teacher return and find her gone, Hotaru remembered that now he'd be requesting a story of her. She felt almost obligated to do so after he'd shared so personal and a heart-wrenching story. The only thing interesting about her life though was the Sailor Senshi and that was strictly to be kept secret. She was certain that he'd find her hobbies of reading and collecting lamps boring, he might even make fun of her if she told him so she ruled that one out. She couldn't tell him about her powers or that she was princess of Saturn. There was definitely no way she could tell him about the powerful friendship between her and Chibi-Usa...not after his story. It would cut way too deep. Literally nothing else came to mind.

She splashed a flurry of cold water on her face before smoothing her skirt down and returning to the room to find it empty. Grimmjow was nowhere to be seen. Had he run out before detention was over? Probably, her mind chided, he probably lived in this detention room after school. Maybe that was why the teacher had left because Grimmjow was certain to leave early anyways. Strange, she remarked, taking her seat like a good student. He had been so adamant about talking to her before and yet...he'd run off without even demanding she keep her end of the bargain. Something, however, told her in her gut that he would definitely come to collect on that debt.

The empty room was lonesome, made even more so by the loud ticking of the wall clock. It was 4:00 now, just 30 more minutes and she could leave herself. As a new student, it would be foolish to run out and follow Grimmjow's example. Then, even more eyes would be on her and she didn't want to think about things being even harder for her. She'd tried to stay under the radar, clearly failing in her endeavor.

Reaching down to her bag, deciding to look over the packet given to her by Suì-Fēng-sama earlier that day, she found something stuffed into her bag. It was a note. Hotaru sighed mentally, only imagining what could have been written on this thing. She'd save it for later though, refusing to give Grimmjow the pleasure of knowing that she read it while he might still be lurking around somewhere. Oh no, she cursed, getting up from her seat again and going to look out the window. She had a slightly obstructed view of the school gates, but could see clear enough that no one was standing in front or around them and breathed a sigh of relief. At least she'd have a clear path home this time. It felt like years since she'd actually been home. She'd definitely need to rest tonight; tomorrow was the first day of class in the Fighting Faction.

* * *

Hotaru decided not to let Haruka, Michiru, or even Setsuna know about the school decision although she knew that it was pointless to try to keep or tell Setsuna any secrets...she knew all of them anyways. Setsuna would only nod her head though, in that all-knowing, motherly way and let Hotaru continue about her business. Haruka and Michiru, on the other hand, would be more apt to storm down to the building and raise hell. She wouldn't let them know unless things really really got out of hand.

"Hotaru-chan? Could you come down for a minute?" Hotaru pushed the packet she'd been reading from her lap; lots and lots of papers that were basically waivers and permissions forms. She'd get Setsuna to sign them later after Haruka and Michiru had fallen asleep. She said nothing in response, quickly vacating from her bedroom and traversing the stairs. "I forgot to tell you. You had a letter come the other day." Michiru informed her, shining the crystal of a wine glass; she looked like she was trying to scrub off lip stick marks.

"From who?" Hotaru asked rather blandly, it wasn't too strange for them to get letters every and now then from the Inner Senshi who had stayed behind in Juuban. "Ah, it's Chibi-Usa!" she exclaimed happily, tearing into the letter. "It says...huh, it says the girls are planning to come and visit us in a few weeks. It says they'll be staying over in Karakura too. Why's that?" she questioned innocently, as the pink-haired girl had not listed any reason for their prolonged visit. Michiru could only shrug at her and nod her head, this letter being the first she'd heard of their trip as well. Well, she supposed it didn't matter, tucking the letter back inside its envelope.

After the fight with Galaxia, the unfortunate Inner Senshi were forced to repeat their last year of high school, much to the chagrin of Usagi. However, it couldn't be helped, saving the Earth and it's people always came first. With Setsuna as her teacher, Hotaru found that going to public school was nothing but a waste of time to her, but, as she had made a promise with Setsuna, continued to attend keep up their ruse. Truthfully, she had finished her school studies a long time ago, and would have officially earned her diploma if not for her powers over death and rebirth, creating a constant cycle she must relive over and over again. It made her head pound to think about it though so she often tried to dismiss the thoughts from her mind.

She headed back up the stairs soon after, excusing herself to work on homework. Hotaru fought to keep her eyes open though, lack of sleep finally catching up with and passed out cold, papers still strewn about the bed.

* * *

Hotaru rolled over and blinked her eyes. What time was it, her mind questioned groggily, eyes casting about the room for her alarm clock which lived on a dresser opposite her bed. It was 3 something in the morning. Oh no, she'd messed up her sleeping schedule again. Irregular sleeping schedules were supposed to be bad for you, not to mention it detracted from your grades in school she mentally noted, climbing out of bed to change from her uniform and into her pajamas. She carefully packed away all the papers on her bed into her bag as well as the ones that had floated to the floor after being knocked off in her sleep.

Then she heard it. A tapping sound. She dismissed the noise as the creaking of the two-story house, and moved to place her bag into the rocking chair. She normally sat here when she felt like sewing or crocheting, but obviously hadn't had the time lately with all the moving and school. Something floated by her foot. Bending down, she found it was the note Grimmjow had left atop her bag. With a sigh, she brought it back over to the bed and opened it slowly as if a monster might pop out and attack her.

It was a simple note scrawled in bad writing. She could just barely make out the characters, the note reading for her to meet him at some spot at a certain time. She had no idea where he could be talking about, considering she was new in town. Another tap sounded up them, and again she dismissed it, tossing the note into her garbage can. If he wanted to talk to her about something, he had had plenty of time to do it back in the detention room, she huffed climbing back into bed and turning out the light.

A tap. Then another, and then a third. Two more in rapid succession followed after that. Hotaru's eyes widened, what the heck was making that noise? It was irritating and keeping her awake, and darn it if she didn't need sleep. She figured a burglar would be smarter than that to make all that noise and this neighborhood didn't have many pets around to cause racket. She racked her brain for ideas, a difficult task at this hour.

Quietly, she crawled out of bed and sat on the floor. She listened for the sound to come, and each time it did, she crawled on hands and knees towards what she believed to be the source. It sounded like it was coming from the window. Peeking her head up slowly and looking down, she could just barely make out two figures in the moonlight, mostly cast in shadows that obstructed their faces from view. With a mini-yelp, she jerked back down, praying that she hadn't been spotted. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that it was Grimmjow and Ulquiorra down there.

With a hand clapped over her mouth, she dared to poke her head up again and look around. Nothing. There was nothing but the empty ground of their front yard. Nothing looked disturbed either. Hotaru breathed a sigh relief, glad to know her mind had just been playing tricks on her. She gave a small laugh, joking to herself about much she needed to sleep, and climbed back in bed. Besides, neither of those two even knew the address to her house and she could sleep safe knowing that fact.

* * *

Hotaru yawned as she walked the route to school. Haruka would have taken her that morning if complications with the bike hadn't arose, but Hotaru didn't mind too much as the distance wasn't too great. However, it wasn't the best trip to make when you were dead tired. Today would be a rough one she could tell, and Sui-Feng-sama certainly wouldn't go easy on her either. She could only hope Ichigo wouldn't be too upset with her...she was glad to have him as her partner, but did he feel the same? To her, Ichigo seemed like a nice person and an even better one to have as a friend, but...maybe he would deem her as just getting in his way or something. She wasn't the best of fighters after all, having ended up in this stupid faction thanks to a misunderstanding.

With a turn of the corner and a horrendous crash, Hotaru found herself on the pavement. Great, she'd run into someone in her half-dazed state. "Ah, I'm really sorry about that!" she apologized, haphazardly trying to get back on her feet.

"Nah, it's cool...here."

Her eyes widened in surprise, she knew that voice. It was Renji, the really tall guy with the spiky red-hair. She hadn't seen him since the other morning when the groups had met up together...right before she ran into Grimmjow in other words. He was bent over slightly with a hand extended her direction to help her up, when she realized that, she made a stumble to grab it.

"Thank you. And sorry again." she apologized politely, quietly in a whispery-tone, embarrassed by the fact that she had run into him. She must have seemed super spacey.

"I said it was fine, you don't have to apologize. It's not like it hurt or anything. So, I guess you live around here?" he motioned for her to walk beside him, Hotaru mentally giggling at the picture it must have painted. He was at least two feet taller than her. She nodded dumbly at his motion, but took a spot beside him and adopted his walking pace. "Sorta...my house is a block or two back that way. It's good to know that someone I know lives close to me...I still really don't know my way around this town yet." She wasn't exactly sure what to talk about with him, this being the first time they'd been alone together and the first time they'd really spoken.

He just kinda nodded at her, not in an uninterested way but in a way that showed he wasn't quite sure how to respond. Hotaru understood this and decided to ask another question, "So...Rukia's not with you today?" It was an innocent question, Hotaru having observed the closeness of the two during their trek through the hallways...she only hoped that she had read the situation correctly.

"Tch, like she'd ever walk with me..." Renji muttered sarcastically, turning his head away from the girl.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Oh, uh, nothing..."

"Do you like Rukia?" she asked sweetly.

"Wh-what?" the question had obviously caught him off guard...if the thin blush across his face was any indication. It was cute, Hotaru remarked with a giggle.

"Does Rukia know that you like her?"

"Wh-what? I mean, I don't...how do you know that?" he deadpanned, eyes squinted down at the small girl flatly. "Is it that obvious?" he sighed, putting a hand to his forehead in disbelief.

"A little. Why don't you just tell her?" Hotaru didn't really consider herself one for match-making, almost feeling a little guilty for bringing the subject up. It had honestly been the only thing she could think to talk with him about.

"Are you kidding? Her older brother would kill me if I ever even thought it." Renji replied, tone completely serious now. "Trust me, if you knew how he was, you'd understand. Let's not talk about it, okay? He's a good guy, don't get me wrong, just...overbearing...I guess is the word."

This time it was Hotaru's turn to nod as she had no idea how to respond to him. She assumed the man's name was Kuchiki if he were Rukia's brother, but other than that, had no idea about him. However, she did feel bad for Renji. His words, aura, and vibes were telling her all she needed to know...he was basically saying that he and Rukia could never be together as long as her brother was in the way. And even then, he hadn't mentioned anything about the way Rukia might have felt...Hotaru felt kinda bad for him and decided she wouldn't pry anymore on the way to school.

* * *

No one had a comment about Renji and her arriving together, if anyone noticed at all. By the time they'd arrived, a rather interesting commotion was taking place in front of the school. There was a rather group of kids all huddled around...something, in circular fashion.

"Hey, what's going on?" Hotaru questioned, looking up at Renji. She didn't want to admit that she was too short to see over the crowd.

"I don't really know but...it doesn't look good." Hotaru frowned, taking the initiative to run forward and push through the crowd. Where this sudden burst of energy and confidence came from, she didn't know, and surprisingly didn't stop when she heard Renji yelling for her to come back. A part of her feared that it was Grimmjow come to take his frustrations out on Tatsuki as a means of finishing their fight. Why she seemed more worried about him than Tatsuki was a mystery, and hoped deep down that it if were them fighting, Tatsuki would knock him out cold.

After the short but strenuous task of pushing through the other cheering kids, Hotaru was rather surprised by what she saw. Neither Grimmjow nor Tatsuki was present, but instead, Ichigo was the one fighting...with someone she didn't quite recognize. He looked too old to be a student but was still rather young-looking in the face. Could he have been one of the teachers, Hotaru wondered, looking him up and down. He was tall with long, black hair and a very noticeable aura of refinement hung around him. He was definitely someone that might catch Setsuna interests, Hotaru decided. He was dressed up, and despite the fact that he had been fighting, suffered no scratches or any kind of abrasion on his suit or person. Ichigo, on the other hand, was looking a little worse for wear. He looked to have fallen in the dirt quite a few times and looked worn out.

"What's going on?" she involuntarily asked, hoping no one heard her in the jeering crowd.

Hotaru paled, was Ichigo forced to fight alone because she hadn't gone here on time? She had left plenty early so as to not be late, but...why on Earth would Ichigo be fighting a teacher? Oh wait, of course, she remembered...this was how everyone was going to be graded. Despite the fact that there were girl and boys partnered together, there was an instructor specified for both sexes. If Sui-Feng-sama was the female instructor, then this guy must have been the male instructor...right? It made sense in her head. Still...he wasn't quite what she had pictured when the idea of the boy's instructor of the Fighting Faction had come up.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her by the arm. In reaction, she turned in suspicion, ready to fight them off, when she saw it was Renji. "Hotaru, get back! It's dangerous to stand to close to them."

"I'll be fine, Renji, I promise." she assured, almost feeling like she were talking to an older brother, "Besides, Ichigo and I are supposed to partner's in the Faction." Renji looked down at the smaller girl in disbelief...could something so small and fragile actually be able to fight? It intrigued him, made him wonder what fighting the petite girl would be like, interesting or just sad? He'd have to observe her today if there was any fighting going. "Uh, anyways," with a shake his red hair, he quickly changed the subject, "Just back up a little, okay? You don't want to get on that guy's bad side."

"Is that...the boy's instructor for the Fighting Faction?" she asked, trying to keep it her voice low with Renji still able to hear her above the crowd.

"No way, the guy in charge of us is a real monster. That's...Rukia's brother, Byakuya." he informed with a grimace.

* * *

_**And chapter 5 is done, or maybe rather the chapter where nothing much happened at all; hence the name pun of this chapter (much ado about nothing, anyone?). The main point of this was to get Grimmjow's little backstory out, and yes, that group is supposed to be Grimmjow's fraccion; they'll play a part in his character development later on so don't forget about them. As you'll come to see, many events from the series will play out here but in a slightly twisted fashion to fit the world this story takes place (for example, Grimmjow's fraccion was killed in the series by the protagonists, while in my story they did in a gang fight...see?). Also, the introducing of some more important plot points for later on.**_

_**Leave me a review if you'd like. This was a very hard to chapter to write as I basically wrote it one sentence or paragraph at a time, so I apologize for the disjointed nature if it seems that way. Finals were driving me insane and giving me massive headaches, and I was hoping writing would take my mind off of things. Some criticism would definitely be welcome.**_


	6. Hate Me Hate You

_**Chapter 6: Hate Me Hate You**_

"Byakuya...?" Hotaru tried the name out as she turned her attention back to the fight between the two men. She had no idea what incited the fight but whatever it was about, it seemed pretty serious, and even Renji seemed rather concerned. There had to be something she was missing here, something on the inside but she wouldn't press for information, not now. Across the way, on the opposite side of the lop-sided circle that rallied around the fight she could see Grimmjow. His blue hair stuck out from the crowd, making him easy to spy.

Hotaru quickly averted her eyes, hoping that he wasn't able to see her back and ducked down farther into the crowd. She honestly didn't want to see this fight...the outcome seemed pretty much decided at this point. She really had wanted to cheer Ichigo but...this Byakuya seemed very strong. He hadn't even suffered a hit from Ichigo yet, nor had he dealt any blows either. The orange-haired boy was practically beating himself up.

"Hey, hey, knock it off! Save it for later ya bunch of idiots!"

Hotaru winced as the powerful voice boomed over the excitement and jeering of the crowd, the direction the voice having come from was soon making its way through the crowd. It was a man...a very tall and terrifying-looking man with what looked to be a young girl glued to his shoulder, a happy look on her face.

"You heard Kenny! Now get back inside!"

It was strange to see the majority of the group actually vacate to the school building, they obviously too frightened of the new-comer to stay any longer. Hotaru looked out the corner of her eye; Grimmjow had stayed. She turned her purple eyes back over to her left, feeling as Renji tensed beside her.

"Is...is that the guy you were talking about?" Hotaru whispered as the tall man and Byakuya began to speak with one another, ignoring Ichigo as the orange-haired teen pounded his fist into the earth in anger at his apparent loss despite the match ending in a draw. The red-haired boy nodded his head with a gulp...so this was the teacher in charge of the boy's section of the Fighting Faction.

"Byakuya, what the hell do you think you're doing? You know fights between teachers and students have to be approved first," the tall man said in a mocking manner. Honestly, he really couldn't give a crap...all these brats could tear each other apart for all he cared; battles, as long as they were fair, were all that mattered.

"Kenpachi..." Byakuya spat with distaste, turning to glare at the taller man as he readjusted the sheathe at his waist. Strange, Hotaru hadn't noticed that there before. "This 'fight' was personal, not school regulated." the man stated simply with an air of natural elegance and poise. He didn't wait for an answer and simply walked away, leaving the group without another word.

Hotaru stared on with her mouth agape. When she realized that she'd been staring, she quickly closed her mouth and lay a hand over it. Well that was certainly...interesting. Still, it had nothing to do with her. She had her own problems to worry about. Now that she looked down, she could see that Ichigo hadn't moved from his spot on the ground...maybe he was hurt?

"Um...Ichigo-san? Are you hurt?"

"No, dammit, I'm fine," he shot back, awkwardly getting back onto his feet. He hadn't meant to sound angry towards her, he was just pissed that he'd let Byakuya get the better of him. Hotaru winced at the ferocity of his words, assuming that they were meant for her and quietly apologized. She watched as he hobbled slightly away, missing her opportunity to ask if he'd like for her to heal him. She turned to see if Renji was behind her, half-hoping he'd say something encouraging like 'Don't mind him.'. Instead, there was no one...Renji must have run after Byakuya or something. And to top it off, the group that had gathered for the fight was now entirely gone.

"How long you gonna sit there in the dirt?" she looked around for the source of the voice, looking up to see Grimmjow right in front of her with his hand extended. Was he offering to help her up? She glared, then turned her gaze away from him, and with a push of her hands got to her feet on her own.

"I'm perfectly capable of getting up on my own." Hotaru replied, hurriedly maneuvering around him to head towards the school building, leaving him with his hand still extended out to no one.

"Oh really? How about answering people's notes? You able to do that?" the blue-haired boy shot back, turning slightly as he stuffed his hand back into his pocket. Shit, that's what happened when you tried to be nice. Why the hell did he even do that anyways? It wasn't like him.

"All you wrote was an address, and I'm still not really familiar with the places in Karakura." she responded simply, heading once again towards the steps to the school.

"Fine then, meet me out here when school is over and I can walk you there." It sounded like an offer but it was really more of a demand, emphasis added onto that demand when he walked up right beside her.

"And if I refuse?" Hotaru questioned, both of them falling into a walking pace with one another. She hoped no one was looking...she didn't want anyone thinking that they were beginning to hang out or something.

"I'll find you and drag your ass along with me, you know I will." he laughed, causing her to grit her teeth.

"What's so special about this place? Why can't you just go ahead and tell me?"

"You'll find out if you come along, won't you?" Grimmjow said, turning a corner and parting ways with her for now. Hotaru stopped and watched him walk down his hallway...was he actually going to class? That was new, she remarked as she continued on her way to her own classroom. According to the packet, they'd start the day out in a regular classroom with tables, chairs, and desks rather than the dojo where she had initially suspected. They would receive their assignments first, then move onto the dojo for training. As weird as it was, things actually seemed normal for once...she couldn't really explain why. Surely this whole faction thing was fighting and nothing more...probably just some kind of implementation into the Phys. Ed. From where she'd heard been hearing on t.v., there were going to be some changes. Besides, she could tell people like Ichigo and Grimmjow were experienced fighters...may have just been because of streets fights but it still counted as experience.

So, she wondered as she rounded another corner...where was the place they sent non-fighters or those who lacked the skill or abilities to to heal and treat wounds (she counted the Healing Faction more as a Fitness and Wellness type of class, the kind where you would learn how to do CPR and such)? It was odd...the little girl named Momo who had been hanging around Toshiro seemed to fall into that group. She didn't seem very strong nor did she give off the impression of being a healer. Still, Hotaru supposed she couldn't rightfully judge someone until she got to know them. Mizuiro...Keigo...Chizuru...where were they all now? And all the other girls? It was partially due to their silly antics that the first day had been kind of entertaining...she still had Orihime and Tatsuki though so she supposed she should count her blessings.

"Hey! Hotaru-chan! Over here!"

"Hi Tatsuki!" she greeted over to the spiky-haired girl's side. It seemed their classroom was currently locked and a very tiny group of girls was huddled around outside the door. "So...this is it?" she questioned, looking back down the line to see if she recognized anymore familiar faces. There were two senior-looking girls, one with dark-tan skin and the other oddly-colored flowing green hair. Another lone girl with a short skirt and long braid stood staring quietly at the floor, and next to her stood Rukia who then friendly nodded in her direction once their eyes met. At the very end of the line stood two silver-haired girls that were obviously sisters.

"Yep, this is the place. I really hope Suì-Fēng-sensei gets here soon! I'm so pumped for this!" Tatsuki announced, jumping around and punching the air like a boxer.

"Yeah...I guess..." Hotaru answered a little halfheartedly. True, the whole concept was interesting and seemed a lot better than just sitting in a classroom like she'd done for many years but looking around now...the idea of fighting these girls actually seemed a little scary. Were they skilled fighters like Ichigo, or were they just naturally strong? She couldn't help but wonder if any of them actually possessed powers just as she did. It seemed a long-shot but an interesting thought.

The door they'd all queued up in front silently slid open then clicked. It was the click that actually drew their attention. Hotaru only hoped that Suì-Fēng-sensei wouldn't jump out and surprise them like she had for their apparent first test. She'd really been caught off guard and had only missed being hit by dumb luck.

The girls all filed in, taking a seat around the room as they prepared to be informed of their assignment.

* * *

"So tell me Hotaru, who did you get paired with? You're one of the ones that got paired up with a boy, right?" Tatsuki asked her friend en route to the dojo that was situated just a little ways behind the main school building. The boys were supposedly already there, forced to wait on the girls before they could start the actual training part themselves. Suì-Fēng lead the way for their group, silently walking with her arms crossed over her chest. Hotaru had to admit, she'd only spent a little time around her new teacher but she already greatly respected her; someone so short and tiny in stature and yet she had a burning fighting spirit that no one could deny. It was nothing short of amazing.

She quickly remembered that Tatsuki had asked her a question, snapping her head back over, "Oh, yeah, I actually got partnered up with Ichigo."

Tatsuki laughed, "Well what a lucky dog he is then. Hey, if he hurts you though you can be sure I'll be smacking him a good one!" Tatsuki joked, holding a fist out in front of her for effect, Hotaru laughing in response. This feeling...friends and laughter...this was definitely perfect. School had once been a nightmare to her, surrounded by unfriendly bodies that only sought to ostracize her even further by excluding her, pretending that she didn't exist. But now...now things were fun. And even better, Chibi-Usa and the other scouts were coming for a visit as well!

"What about you, Tatsuki? Who's your training partner?" Hotaru asked innocently once their giggling had ceased.

"Hmm," Tatsuki murmured, trying to keep her voice low, "you saw the really quiet girl earlier, the one that was standing by Rukia? That's her...I think her name is Nemu. I haven't actually talked to her yet though. I wonder if she's able to put up a good fight!"

Once at the dojo, Suì-Fēng didn't bother to introduce or announce their arrival, simply slamming back the sliding doors with so much force they nearly blew off their fixtures. Obviously, the tinier woman who resembled nothing less than a ninja didn't care...she was in charge and they'd all come to learn that. The room full of boys was silent as Suì-Fēng marched to the front of the room to stand near Zaraki and the little girl that seemed to favor sitting on his left shoulder. However, the silence didn't last once the other girls entered the room; a round of laughs when up and even a few cat calls.

"Damn jerks," Tatsuki growled, cracking her knuckles as Hotaru turned her gaze to the floor, wishing very much that she could just disappear into the cracks. It seemed like the boys were already partnered up so the girls were left flailing for to find their own spaces. Hotaru gave a small smile, slightly forgetting herself, and headed in the direction of Ichigo's bright orange hair. It was kind of funny, he was very easy to find, kind of a like a beacon in a storm. She quietly took a seat on the floor beside him, sitting with her legs underneath her while he sat normally, crossing his legs and wearing a bored expression on his face.

"You're only here because you've managed to pass our tests," began Suì-Fēng, "This means you either have great spiritual awareness and physical prowess. And for the rest of you...dumb luck." Hotaru winced, her eyebrows knitting in embarrassment...that comment had to be directed at her. Did anyone else know of her blunder?

"And now that you are, you're gonna train like there's no tomorrow. This school was picked particularly for its high number of spiritual activity. A lotta you out there may not even realize how much power you really have." Zaraki continued, a rusty-looking blade glinting in the light as it dangled from his hip by a cloth belt...why was there no sheathe? The pink-haired girl jumped up and began to speak too, "That's right! But that's why we're here to find out exactly what everybody can do! Like for instance, some of you might even be able to see and interact with spirits!" She giggled, flailing around yet never managing to fall off.

Hotaru felt Ichigo stand up beside her, wondering what could have been the matter.

"Look lady," he began, turning to address Suì-Fēng, "I didn't show up to school today to be recruited by a bunch a weirdos. I'm going home." Placing his hands in his pockets, he turned around to leave, casually stepping around Hotaru as he did so.

"Cocky, isn't he?" Suì-Fēng remarked, still stone-faced with her arms crossed, Ichigo's abrupt announcement not even having phased her.

"Don't worry, I'll get him," Zaraki stated just as casually, wearing a grin that stretched across his entire face. Grabbing Yachiru by the scruff of her shirt, he pulled her from his shoulder and dropped her to the ground, the little girl surprisingly landing on her feet. "Yay! Go Kenny!" she cheered as Zaraki disappeared in a frightening black-colored blur, re-appearing once he was close enough to Ichigo to strike a blow.

"Whoa!" Ichigo grunted, just barely missing the powerful punch thrown his way; even the air waves following the punch seemed intense. He rolled out of the way, heading back into the group of students still sitting on the floor. Hotaru had long since moved from her position, now turned the opposite way and resting on her knees. Should she help him? Maybe this was supposed to be their idea of discipline though...and she couldn't risk getting in trouble again. If Michiru and Haruka found out, what would they say about all this? The sound of bickering caught her ear and she turned to her left to see who on Earth would dare be talking right now, especially when Suì-Fēng was still perfectly capable of exacting discipline as well.

"Dammit Neliel, get the hell off of me! Fuck, you and your tits weigh like a million pounds!"

"Shut the hell up, Nnoitra! I didn't plan on touching you today, believe me!"

It was the green-haired girl from earlier this morning, and she obviously shared bad blood with a black-haired boy wearing an a white, gauzy-looking eye patch. She quickly turned her attention back to Ichigo and Zaraki, the latter still trying to land a hit on the younger boy.

"Come on then kid, come and hit me with everything you've got! You're supposed to be strong, right?" Zaraki mocked, effectively drawing the rusty blade from where it had been tied to his waist. Hotaru looked over her shoulder, Suì-Fēng was shaking her head almost as if she were embarrassed and the tiny pink-haired girl was still jumping up and down cheering.

"What are you, nuts?" Ichigo yelled, doing his best to avoid the sword which came ever closer on each swing. The more he dodged the more into the crowd the battle flowed and the more people that began to scatter. Hotaru looked around, she had to move too or she'd be hit! Still, she felt that she should help Ichigo in some way. She quickly scanned the room for any useable objects, maybe there was something still left here from the kendo club...there, on the wall, a single bokuto was hanging. It may not have been able to rival Zaraki's blade, but it was still better than nothing.

"Ichigo, grab the sword!" she yelled, hoping the boy would turn in time and be able to see her pointed finger. "Huh?" she murmured...when had they gotten this close to her?

"Idiot, look out!" Someone grabbed a hold of her, that much she was aware of, and she and her savior tumbled out of the way rolling over a few times before finally reaching a stop. "If you're not gonna fight then get off the battlefield." Dammit, she knew that voice, it was Grimmjow. She quickly pushed out of his arms and scrambled back.

"I could have handled that on my own." she said, a tone of halfheartedness in her voice. Okay, well maybe she hadn't needed help but not from him.

"Tch, whatever," Grimmjow muttered before climbing back to his feet. "So...you got partnered up with him?" He never really had cared for the orange-haired boy, his attitude just got on his nerves.

"It's not really your business but yes." Hotaru stated matter-of-factly, "And you got partnered with Rukia..." Poor Rukia, Hotaru thought, trying to pick out the dark-haired girl amongst the scattered students, instead her eyes fell on the running figure of someone...they were headed to the bokuto on the wall.

"Ichigo, catch!" Rukia shouted, throwing the sword his way with precision. Hotaru blinked...well, she supposed that was one way she could have helped. The thought of actually running to get it hadn't crossed her mind. She heard Grimmjow snicker beside her, assuming it was due to her lack of action in the matter and turned to reprimand him but...no, he was wasn't laughing at her. He was laughing at the futility of the idea of fighting against a metal sword with a bokuto.

"Fools! This has gone on long enough!" Suì-Fēng shouted, disappearing before anyone could pin-point her location. "Suzumebachi!" It was too fast for her eyes to follow but something hit Ichigo in the back, causing his entire body to lock up and collapse. "Zaraki, enough! You've made your point. I can only hope he understands his folly by this point."

"Yeah, yeah..." Zaraki brushed it off, throwing his sword back over his shoulder rather than replacing it, the grin he'd been wearing the entire battle still plastered to his face.

"Now everyone get with your partners, we've lots to get through today." Suì-Fēng ordered, causing some of the students to scramble.

Grimmjow laughed as he began to saunter off, "You have fun with that. Oh, and I'll see you after school." Hotaru frowned, staring at his backside as he left, successfully resisting the urge to call him a gorilla or something fitting like that. She climbed up and ran over to Ichigo who still lay motionless on the floor,

"Ichigo-kun...are you hurt badly?"

"Nah, I just can't move my body. Freakin' annoying...what did she even hit me with?" the boy grumbled, if it hadn't been so binding then his body might have been twitching. He was using all of his strength in an attempt to move and nothing! These people were serious...

"Let me see if I can help." She may as well try and heal him, Suì-Fēng didn't seem keen on the idea of coming back over to un-do whatever it was she had done. She lay her hands over his chest, a warming purple light beginning to flow from her palms. The aura engulfed them both; had he sustained any injuries, he would have found them being completely healed with no trace of scarring left behind. "Can you...can you move?" Hotaru asked after a moment, the power disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Huh...y-yeah! I feel better than ever!" Ichigo exalted, sitting up with a spring, holding his hands out in front of him...strange, he felt really energized too, like he had even strength to knock down a wall. "Hey, how did you even do that?"

"It's...just a power I was born with. I've always wanted to be a nurse so I think it suits me quite well." She laughed...what a wonderful to remember that she got embarrassed in front of him...why did he have to be so cute and kind?

"A power you were born with? If we're partners in this thing guess I should come clean too...ever since I was little I've had the ability to see spirits. Pretty weird, huh?" he joked as she helped him to his feet. Hotaru felt herself smile a little bit...he didn't find her healing ability weird or strange at all, and even had a unique ability himself. She knew she should wipe the grin off of her face before Suì-Fēng saw but...she put her hand delicately over her mouth, as if she were trying to hide laughter.

The two quickly turned to mimic everyone else, standing in two straight lines opposite of each other. There was plenty of room of between them and the persons beside them. Honestly, there was only one scenario that fit the bill-a sparring match.

"Well, looks like we have to fight. You ready?"

Oh, she was ready, she just didn't like the idea of it. As everyone began, the lines began to fall out formation and the fighters were granted more room. It seemed strange to just lunge at an opponent you had no intention of killing, much less fighting for fun. What a horrible phrase, fighting for fun...still, you had to do so in order to become strange.

Hotaru turned her head up at Ichigo and nodded, "I'm ready. I know you'll do it without realizing, but, please don't feel the need to go easy on me." Even Michiru and Makoto unadmittedly pulled their punches at time, in fact, the only person who refused to do so during senshi training was Haruka, but only because she believed Hotaru was stronger than that.

"Alright then," Ichigo nodded back, pushing off with his feet to lunge. There were a few things she had to keep in mind, a little something Haruka had taught her about enemy assessment. Ichigo was a lot taller than her which meant his legs were longer and kicks more powerful. She'd have to watch out for that. His fight with Zaraki had probably wound him up a little bit, that she would have to watch out for too.

On second thought, maybe she wouldn't be watching out for anything as she lay back against the floor, clutching her throbbing eye. Damn it all, he was fast...and he'd sucker-punched her in the eye. Ow, this was definitely going to be a black eye, she grimaced, waiting for the pain to somewhat pass before she stood up. She could hear Suì-Fēng scoff from across the room, and Zaraki give a hearty laugh...were they laughing at here? Great...she could only hope no one else had stopped to look at her.

"Hey, hey asshole! I saw that!"

Hotaru cracked open her uninjured eye, that was Grimmjow...and that meant the last thing she needed right now. Was he coming over here now too? She hazardously forced herself onto her knees, the blow still leaving her a little shell-shocked. That blue-haired idiot was trying to pick a fight with Ichigo, she had to stop him.

"Saw what?" Ichigo shot back, stopping in his task of going over to help her as such. He honestly thought she could have dodged that...he hadn't hit her on purpose...well, he had in a sense, this was a sparring match but he hadn't meant to seriously injure her or anything.

"That. You punched her on purpose!"

"The hell I did. It was an accident, I thought she could dodge it!"

"Spare me, Kurosaki, you're just trying to cover things up because now you look like the bad guy."

"Why you..."

"Enough! Stop it!" Hotaru yelled, squeezing her way in between the two of them, a hand still draped gingerly over her eye. If she was going to have a black eye then there should have been no sense in hiding but still...blame her pride on that one, she supposed. Hotaru turned to face Grimmjow, "This isn't even your fight, go away!" she tried to whispered under her breath. Her only response was a glare back down at her before he abruptly, roughly, grabbed her wrist and began to drag her away.

"Hey what are you doing?" Hotaru demanded, trying her best to wriggle out of his grasp...it felt like he was going to pull her wrist out of its socket. She looked back to Ichigo who stood just as confused as she was, scratching the back of his head. She wanted to yell back at him, hoping that maybe he would get the impression that she needed help just from looking at her face. But as they neared the doorway, she could just make out Rukia's similar small frame running over to his side. The two shrugged their shoulders at each other, striking up a conversation about them most like, Hotaru decided.

Once she'd pulled from the doorway of the dojo, she could only wonder why Suì-Fēng and Zaraki had failed to stop them...why? After they'd cleared a few steps away from the dojo, Hotaru could feel his grip loosen on her wrist and she jerked it free, misjudging the energy needed to perform that task and stumbled backwards. Her hand was still draped over her eye, strange that she hadn't thought to use that hand to dig her nails into him or something of the sort.

"What's your problem with me? What was all that about? Ichigo and I were just-"

"Shut up and come here. We're going to the Infirmary." he ordered, attempting to grab a hold of her wrist again but she noticed the action and jerked away from him again.

"Not until you answer my question."

"Simple, that was an unfair fight. That bastard should have know that..."

"What...?" she questioned when he paused. He seemed to think on it for a moment then growled before trying to grab her hand, this time gesturing with an outstretched palm.

"Never mind. Will you just come on already?" She knew she'd regret it later but decided to take his hand anyway.

* * *

"Yeah, you're gonna have a black eye alright." It wasn't like it was news to her but she supposed he was just trying to help...or his version of it anyways. At first he practically ordered her to move her hand, and when she told him she'd be fine, he yanked it down and held it to the bed. "Sit there and I'll fix you something."

"I already told you that I can-"

"Shut up, woman. Swallow your damn pride and shut up." he demanded, shaking his head as he wondered around the clinic looking for something. Damn him, it wasn't pride! She was only trying to tell him that she could heal it up and be fixed in no time. She sighed and raised a hand to her eye, watching as he disappeared around one of the curtains that sealed off the beds in the infirmary, a purple glow emanating slowly from her hand. Hotaru could sense him moving from behind the curtain and quickly cut off the power, not really feeling like explaining her powers to him. In retrospect, maybe she should have...if he ever found out about them and learned that Ichigo already knew, she highly doubted he'd be pleased.

"Here, take this." A bag of ice? Well, that would do for now. She hadn't been able to fully heal the bruise thanks to his return but she'd at least lessened it. With the ice and her body's natural healing ability, hopefully it would be gone before she had to go home and face Haruka and Michiru.

"Thank you," she mumbled, "...can I ask you something?" It was like her lips were moving on their own, but...there was something she was curious about. "Why do you hate Ichigo so much?" By now Grimmjow had his back to her, glancing over a shoulder to see as she asked. He grabbed a hold of a nearby chair, spinning it, then sitting in it backwards.

"Why the hell do you care?" he asked, now technically on eye-level with the girl as he rested his arms and chin on the back of the chair.

"You really seem to hate him...why? It may not be any of my business, but it might be soon, especially if you two end up fighting for no reason."

"..." He went silent, staring at her face as if the answer might have been written there. "I just hate him...okay? The way he tries to play super hero really ticks me off." That couldn't have been all...there had to be something vital that he was leaving out. She knew it wasn't entirely impossible to hate a person just because of the way they looked, talked, or behaved but still...this bad blood ran deeper than that. "Anyways, see? I did something for you so now you gotta do something for me."

"You did this so you could ask a favor?" Hotaru asked, a little dumb-founded...that was one way to go about it, she supposed. Either that, or he was looking for a way to get back and/or fight Ichigo in secret. "Okay fine, I'll go." Besides, maybe if she was able to kill enough time going to where ever it was he had in mind, then hopefully this black eye would be ancient history.


End file.
